


Project Nadia

by themuseoftomfalk



Series: Tom Falk Saga [1]
Category: Alias (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Drama, F/M, Revenge, Romance, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-17
Updated: 2015-12-07
Packaged: 2018-04-26 19:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 140,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5018020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themuseoftomfalk/pseuds/themuseoftomfalk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally posted at FanFiction in 2011, Project Nadia follows the tale of former cartel hunter Tom Falk and his fated romance with Nadia Santos. Set during seasons S4 and S5. Follows S4 fairly closely, but diverges at S5.</p><p>Will contain some edits from the original for easier reading, fine tuning, and story enhancement.</p><p>**Some explicit language**</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hello, My Name Is...

**Author's Note:**

> Note: If I don't write about it, assume everything else that happened in the actual show happened. If Tom's not in a scene or is not a major part of a scene or storyline, I won't waste your time mentioning it. Just assume he did what Weiss did. This story will mostly just stay on the major points of his storyline, so don't be surprised if the episode timeline jumps around a bit. This is being written mostly as how Tom's sees and perceives things.
> 
> If it helps, my main inspirations for the Tom Falk character are Vic Mackey from The Shield, with bits of Wolverine (X-Men) and General Maximus (Gladiator) thrown in for good measure.
> 
> Oh, and I own nothing and this is purely for entertainment purposes.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this! This fan fic, when originally posted, was over 300,000 words, so expect plenty more going forward!

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episode 5_

* * *

 

_**APO Conference Room** _

He almost can't contain his excitement.

Tom Falk, a somewhat stocky, but still fit man of average height, blue eyes, and a very short blonde haircut with a widows peak, stands off to the left side of Jack Bristow. Arvin Sloane is standing to Bristow's right at the head of the table. Tom casually looks out at the APO conference room table. He looks at Michael Vaughn, seated to the near right. To Michael's right is Sydney Bristow. To the right of Sydney and at the other head of the table is Marcus Dixon. To Dixon's right going back towards Tom is Marshall Flinkmann.

And then Tom scans over to Nadia Santos. Tom's smirk turns to a full-blown smile as he makes eye contact with her. To his satisfaction, his wide smile is returned with an equally wide one from Nadia.

Tom looks down at the ground, almost embarrased. He just wants to burst. Something about what he's seeing just feels...right. He's got a smirk on his face as he looks back at Nadia and thinks to himself  _"I remember when I first met you, Nadia...that feeling of destiny I had when I saw your face...this...this moment in time...it feels like 2001 all over again."_

Tom snaps out of it as the warm moment is broken up by Jack's voice. "As you all know by now, I had planned on bringing in Eric Weiss to APO. However, he took a position with the NSC. His position has been filled by the man standing to my left. I'd like to introduce everyone to Tom Falk. He comes to us with years of experience dealing with the Covenant."

Some eyebrows raise among the APO staff. Sydney thinks for a bit. She then asks "Tom, if you dealt with the Covenant, then why haven't any of us worked with you before?"

Nadia turns in her chair to face Sydney. Tom looks a little panicked now. He wants to keep their past a secret. As much as remembering his past with Nadia makes him happy, it also makes him feel somewhat ashamed. So, as Nadia starts to speak, Tom cuts her off, surprising her a bit. "First of all, let me just say it's an honor to be working with you, Sydney. I was told about your skills before I joined."

Sydney cocks her head a bit at that. "By who?"

Tom smirks. "James Lennox says hello."

A smile quickly forms on Sydney's face while a few of the other APO members pick up on the name. Sydney asks "You worked with Lennox? How is he?"

Tom chuckles a bit at that comment. "Worked with him? He was my boss! And, to answer your second question, just fine...just wish he'd be easier to get a hold of." Sydney laughs a bit as Tom continues. "Anyway, getting back to your original question, our division, which was called CIA Dark Cover, dealt specifically with projects that Covenant Special Sciences was into. Project Helix was one of them. There were also some other projects that we were interested in."

Vaughn, now curious, asks "What kind of other projects?"

Tom turns to Vaughn. "All kinds of strange, and even downright macabre stuff." Tom then starts scanning the table again. "Is anyone here an X-Men fan?"

Marshall is the only one that raises his hand.

Tom turns to Marshall. "Well, there was a guy who literally was trying to turn people into mutants, like from the comic book."

Marshall leans forward, now very intrigued. With his trademark sheepish smirk, he says "Really? Did he ever turn anyone into another Wolverine?"

Tom shakes his head. "Not that I'm aware of. But, we did come across another doctor that..." Tom's looks away for a bit as his confident look turns to a troubled one for a moment. He quickly snaps out of it and looks back at Marshall with his original confident expression. "...was successful in replacing a part of someone's skeletal system with titanium replicas."

Marshall raises his eyebrows a bit and looks like he wants to ask something.

But before he can, Jack cuts him off. "Tom will not be a full-fledged field agent, but he will be available in a support role."

As Jack says that, Tom rolls his eyes, which Sydney and Nadia notice.

Sydney, looking at a now-irritated Tom, asks "Why is that?"

Tom darts his eyes back over to Sydney. "The CIA...not me, I want to emphasize that...feels I'm too much of a health risk in the field. I have a medical issue."

Sloane, rather dryly, cuts him off. "It's an issue that neither the CIA nor Tom apparently feel like disclosing."

Tom turns to Sloane quickly and has a scowl on his face. "We all have our secrets, don't we?"

Sloane keeps his blank expression and glare as the rest of the team picks up on the tension between the two.

After a few seconds, Jack breaks the tension. "It's possible, down the road, that Tom could become field-rated. But either way, he's here for intel gathering and support."

Sloane looks out at the office area. "Tom, I noticed you put your things on the desk next to Nadia's. Of all the desks here, why did you choose that one?"

Tom cracks open a smirk on his face, and goes to say something before he's cut off by a female voice.

"Probably because we've worked together before."

Tom and Sloane both quickly turn their attention away from each other to Nadia, who just said those words. Everyone else does too. Tom tries to hide a look of disappointment in his face, as he wanted that little detail to be kept a secret...at least for now.

An astonished Sydney tells Nadia "You never told me this!"

Before Nadia can elaborate, Tom cuts her off. "We collaborated a couple of times over the years. In fact, she's one of the reasons I came here. I figured if she found her way here, I guess you guys look for quality in your agents. I'm just glad to be one of them."

Nadia looks down and has a flattered look on her face.

Tom notices and a smirk that is now becoming more and more of a trademark of his returns to his face.

Jack, seeing an opportunity to end the introduction, speaks up. "Alright, let's get back to work everyone. Tom, take all the time you need to get settled in."

Tom looks over at Jack and extends his hand and says "Thanks again for bringing me aboard."

Jack, a little surprised at Tom's gesture, shakes it. Tom then looks over at Sloane, gives him a little glare, and then walks off with the rest of the team out of the conference room. But as Tom is walking out, Sloane is literally staring a hole into Tom's back.

Jack notices. "What is it?"

Sloane keeps staring for a second, then turns to Jack with a somewhat perturbed look on his face. "I don't like him. He's going to be a loose cannon."

Jack snaps back "Nadia is also a loose cannon, to a degree."

Sloane now looks visibly upset. "I can handle her. But this man already hates me. I don't want him here." 

Jack raises his eyebrows a bit. "I'm surprised at your reaction."

Sloane, in a rare moment for him, looks confused. "How so?"

Jack quickly replies "Tom and Nadia have a history. You saw how they embraced before the meeting started. They appear to get along quite well..."

Sloane fires back "...too well."

Jack shrugs a little. "Even so, maybe we can learn more about them if they work together. Besides, Nadia seems happy he's here. I thought that would make YOU happy."

Sloane sighs a bit as he ponders Jack's last sentence. "Well, you did me a favor letting me bring in Nadia, and you seem to think that Tom is a fit here. I'll go along with it, but know this, Jack...he's your problem."

Sloane storms out of the office. Jack thinks what just transpired for a bit. When he interviewed Tom for the position, he knew Tom did not like the prospect of working under Sloane one bit when he interviewed him for the position. But now, he wonders if that tension will lead to a potential explosion down the road.

* * *

**_Marshall's Office_ **

Marshall walks back into his office and starts typing something on a computer. His office is the typical cluttered mess that it always has been. He appears to be really getting focused in on his work before he hears "Hey!" to his left.

Marshall jumps up a bit and looks to his left. He sees Tom standing in the doorway. "Whoa! Don't do that!"

Tom laughs a bit. "Just testing ya. The last operations tech guy I worked with was jumpy too."

Marshall composes himself for a bit, then freezes as Tom walks over with his hand outstretched. "I just wanted to formally introduce myself. Marshall, right?"

Marshall gives a timid smile and shakes Tom's hand. "Yeah, Marshall Flinkmann."

Tom notices that Marshall's palms are a little sweaty, probably nerves from being startled, but he doesn't let it bother him too much. As he casually wipes his hand on his pants, he asks Marshall "I understand you've worked with most of these guys for a long time."

Marshall shrugs a bit. "Yeah, they're kinda like family. I mean...I have a family...at home...a wife and kid, actually...these guys are just a family away from my ACTUAL family...yeah."

Tom chuckles a bit, apparently understanding where he's coming from. "I can respect that. Back in Dark Cover, I became really good friends with my last op-tech. In addition to being invaluable in the field, I've found that he could sometimes lend a...different perspective on things that are going on than a normal agent would."

Marshall thinks about that statement for a bit. "I know I'm a bit of a nerd, but that doesn't..."

Tom, surprised by Marshall's reaction, cuts him off. "Oh no! My last op-tech was a huge nerd, too. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you knew him."

Marshall raises his eyebrows a bit. "Really? What's his name?"

Tom fires back "David Marston."

Marshall's smile fades and he starts looking down at the floor. "I wondered what became of him."

Tom looks surprised at that last statement. "So, you do know him."

Marshall looks up. "Did. I mean, we weren't like, friends, or anything, but I knew OF him. Last I heard, he was wanted for breaking into the FBI database, then he just sorta...disappeared. I just assumed he died or was behind bars somewhere, you know?"

Tom smirks. "No, I got to him before any of that could happen. CIA Cybercrime wanted him bad. But, our division was just starting out, and I needed an op-tech for my tactical team, and I thought he could be an asset. He was a huge help over the years, and, in the process, he cleaned up his act. The guy now has a wife and two kids and is a CIA freelancer."

Marshall smiles a bit. "That's good to hear. Tell him..." Marshall tries to act cool now. "...the Flinkmaster says hey!"

Tom gives Marshall a quizzical look. "I'll never understand you computer guys...but I'll pass along the message. Anyway, I look forward to working with you. If I need any advice, you might see me from a time to time."

Tom then proceeds to give Marshall a somewhat stiff slap on the shoulder. As Tom walks away, Marshall is seen rubbing the shoulder a bit.

* * *

**_Tom and Nadia's Desk_ **

Tom has a confident smirk as he walks back towards his desk. As he turns the corner, he spots Nadia sitting at her desk, which is caddy-corner to Tom's. Tom smirk grows wider as he walks up to his box that he brought with him.

He looks in it for a bit, then pauses. He could feel it rising within him again, just like it did in the conference room. This time, he can't stop it.

From out of nowhere, he starts laughing. This makes Nadia jump a bit, as she didn't realize he was standing there. After realizing it's Tom, she looks at him a little puzzed. "What is it?"

Tom shakes his head and looks at Nadia, still laughing somewhat. "Here we are. Right here. Right now. Three and a half years after you save my life, and here we are."

Nadia smiles wide. "I always knew this day would come. I knew we'd work together again."

Tom sits down, but as he does, he appears to be in deep thought. After a few seconds, Tom looks back at Nadia. "You know, something inside me told me the exact same thing. Even after you got promoted at Argentine Intelligence and started doing deep cover work, I never worried about whether I'd see you again."

Nadia folds her arms on the desk and leans forward casually. "Maybe we just have a special connection. Sometimes, good friends develop that. Even though we hadn't seen each other since that day, I'm happy we kept in touch for as long as we did."

Tom nods. "I agree."

Tom then leans back. He thinks about whether he wants to say what he's about to say. Nadia picks up on Tom's trepidation. "What?"

Tom, who was looking down at the ground, looks back up at Nadia. "When Jack recruited me for this job, I wasn't sure either way whether I was going to take it or not at first. But something happened that made this a no-brainer."

Nadia, listening intently, asks "What happened?"

Tom cracks a small smirk. "I found out you were here."

Nadia looks away astonished, not exactly sure what to think. Still looking away, she mumbles in disbelief "You're entire reason for coming here was because of me?"

Tom reaches over and gently grabs Nadia's hand, which causes her to look back into his eyes. With a pleading look on his face, he says "Yes. Nadia, I don't have a lot on this earth anymore. I have no family, and I only have three people that I consider good, solid friends: Mike and David, my brothers from Dark Cover...and you."

Still in disbelief, Nadia replies "I'm glad you consider me a good friend. I'm just surprised that you would come here just because of me."

Tom, looking to inject some brevity, replies "Well, the subject matter here also attracted me, along with the interesting inter-office chemistry that exists here..."

Nadia lets out a small laugh. "Yeah, it's like one big, strange family here!"

Tom laughs, agreeing with her, but doesn't say anything as he leans back in his chair.

Nadia, still leaning forward, calmly says "Don't get me wrong. I am happy you're here. I really am."

Tom chuckles a bit, breaking up the tender moment. "You better be! I still have a lifedebt that I have to pay back!"

The two laugh a bit. Nadia, still smiling, then shakes her head. "I've told you ever since that day, don't worry about it!"

Tom quickly replies "No, I made the promise, and I have to keep it!" Tom then looks sincerely at Nadia. He leans back over towards Nadia and gently grabs her hand again, then looks into Nadia's eyes deeply. "I understand things have been rough for you for the past few months. If you ever need anything, ANYTHING...let me know. I'm here for you."

Nadia casually looks down at Tom's hand holding hers. She thinks for a bit, then looks back up at Tom with a small smile. "I appreciate it."

Tom lets go of Nadia's hand, then stands up and asks "So, when do I get the nickel tour of this place?"

Nadia opens up a wide smile as she stands up too. Nadia steps out from behind her desk and commands Tom to "Follow me." Tom follows Nadia down the row of desks.

Meanwhile, while they walk down the row, we see Sloane observing the two from his office. He looks like he's in deep thought as he sees them together. What's going through his head...only he knows.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	2. Blanket Party

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episode 6_

* * *

_Note: Episode 6 is titled "Nocturne." This is the episode where Sydney starts having hallucinations after getting bitten by Jason Cahill. It's revealed that Jason and Nancy Cahill came in contact with a drug that causes a melatonin imbalance, causing extreme violence and irrationality. At the point I start Tom's role in this episode, Jack has found out that Jason was going to meet with "The Count". However, details on this person are a little...vague and the team would meet with him without knowing anything about him. We pick up immediately after Sloane decides to send Sydney to meet with The Count, but before she, Michael, and Jack leave._

* * *

_**Tom's desk** _

Tom sits at his desk, pondering something. He wanted to speak up during the meeting and offer his assistance in Sydney's mission to meet "The Count". But, he couldn't.

He thought of a possible way to give Sydney some help. He could talk to a certain informant of his who follows strange science like this. But, Tom had a flashback when he came up with this idea...and it troubled him.

* * *

 

**_Los Angeles, CA (circa 2002)_ **

It's nighttime and we catch up with a thin, kind of gangly man walking out of a small, urban bar. He appears a little nervous as he looks to the left and to the right. He brushes his neck-length brown hair back and takes a deep breath. He walks right.

The man then walks down to the end of the block and stops. He looks right, down a lonely city street that has nothing but cars lined up and down it, presumably patrons of the bar.

He sucks up his courage and starts walking down the sidewalk. There's an abandoned building to his right that he's walking by, followed by an alleyway, and followed by yet another old building.

The man knows that alleyway could be trouble. But, his car is parked directly on the opposite side of that alley, so he has to keep going.

Just as he starts to turn towards an older, green car, he's jumped by four men from that alleyway wearing masks and nothing but black.

The men wrap a blanket around him as he's tackled to the ground. The man squirms to try to break free, but he just can't. The blanket covers his face, and no one can hear his screams.

Two of the men stay down to hold down the man in the blanket while the other two walk back to the alleyway.

Those men return from the alleyway with golf clubs in their hands.

One of the men with the clubs, noticeably shorter than the other, gives the other a head-nod. The big guy then grips his golf club tightly, takes a big windup, and comes down hard on the blanket-wrapped body.

Soon, the shorter man is joining in. Now, they're beating the blanket hard and fast. After about 10 seconds, the shorter man stops. "That's enough, Jerome! I think Mikey here is ready to make his confession..." That man then turns to another man holding down the blanket. "Pull it back."

The man obeys and pulls back the blanket to revealed one beaten man, his face tight and grimacing, yet untouched during the beating.

The shorter masked man squats down and takes off his mask as the blanket is pulled back to reveal the beaten man's pained face.

The shorter masked man is Tom Falk. And he doesn't look happy. "Mikey, your faulty security code nearly led my friend Jerome..." Tom points at the bigger masked man that first took whacks at Mikey. "...to his death! Let this beating serve as a lesson...if you feed me information...it better be right! Now, I'm willing to chalk this up to simple incompetence, because if this were anything else, I wouldn't let you walk away with your pathetic, miserable life tonight! Understood?"

Mikey, in great pain, nods his head. Tom stands back upright and orders the other three men to leave. The blanket is removed, and Mikey reaches down and grabs his ribs, which he's convinced are smashed to bits.

* * *

 

Back in present time, Tom closes his eyes and just shakes his head. Under his breath, he mutters "And to think, this was mild compared to what I did before I joined Dark Cover."

Tom looks down the hallway towards Jack's office. He wonders if this informant would be useable again after what he did. Tom then stands up and starts walking towards Jack's office, thinking " _What the hell, what do I have to lose? If he's a bust, Sydney can still do her job."_

* * *

_**Jack's office** _

Tom walks into Jack's office and sees Jack sitting at his desk. Jack looks up casually at Tom. "What is it?" Jack asks.

Tom, standing near the door, says "I understand we don't have a lot of information on this man Sydney's about to meet. I might know a guy that can give us a little insight into 'The Count'. He's someone that follows this kinda weird science closely. He's been useful in the past, but I haven't used him for a while."

Jack is curious about that last sentence. "Why? Is he unreliable?"

Tom racks his brain, trying to think how he's going to answer that. Then, he speaks. "He was very reliable up until the last time I dealt with him, when he got an important detail wrong and nearly got a member of my team killed. I've been apprehensive about using him since then, especially since I roughed him up a bit for that little mishap."

Jack raises an eyebrow. "Define 'roughed up a bit'."

Tom nods and doesn't hide his disappointment, as he just knew he'd ask that. "Me and my team threw him a blanket party. We beat him pretty bad."

Jack shifts in his chair a bit. "Tom, I know you got your start in a CIA division that asked their agents to do things a little...different. But, I'm going to need to know that you're going to tone down the violence as long as you're here. I don't want a madman on my team."

Tom looks down at his shoes. In a past life, he would have gotten in Jack's face about that statement. He would have made his point loudly and clearly. But, for some reason, the desire to lash out just isn't there. He's just not that guy anymore. Not since that day...

Tom looks up at Jack with a sincere look. "Jack, when you went to my apartment to give me your final sales pitch to come here, we discussed this. That man is dead. I'm what stands in his place. I'm here to do the right thing. I'll make contact with this man and let you know if he gives me anything of value."

Jack leans back in his chair, now confused. "Sounds fine to me, but why are you telling me this? Sloane would want to know what's going on."

Tom slowly shakes his head. "If you want to fill him in on the details, that's fine by me. But I don't respect Sloane. You're my leader, not him."

Jack gets an irritated look on his face. "I know you have personal and ethical reasons for not liking Sloane, but he is the leader of APO. I will not act as a messenger between you and him."

Tom lets out a disappointed sigh. Those words Jack said disappointed him. He thought Jack was the true puppetmaster of APO, but as it turns out, Sloane really does pull the strings here. "Very well, Jack. I'll go see what I can dig out of this guy."

Jack then returns to his work, giving Tom his cue to leave.

* * *

_**Downtown LA, outside of the Blue Tiger Tavern** _

It's nighttime and we catch up with Tom standing in the very same alleyway he jumped Mikey from years back. His back is leaning on the left wall of the Blue Tiger Tavern. He's just standing there, looking down at the ground.

He's nervous. He knows he's nervous. Why? This guy he's about to meet should fear HIM. But, Tom also knows that he'd like to make a good impression to Jack and the rest of the team. Well, everyone except for Sloane. He could care less what he thinks. Plus, how is this guy going to react after their last encounter?

His thoughts are interrupted by footsteps to his right. Tom looks over and sees a man walking towards him. Time to break out the old game face.

Tom forces a cocky smirk on his face as he stands off from the wall and turns towards the man, who is wearing a sleeveless hooded sweater.

The man lowers the hood to reveal his face. Tom eyes him down for a second. Yup, still lanky. Still has a bit of a hunch in his walk. Still has that neck-length brown hair. And still looks just plain dirty. Yup, it's Mikey.

Mikey nervously speaks up. "Tom, how are things?"

Tom keeps his smirk as he keeps scanning Mikey. Tom's eyes then hits Mikey's hands, which are in his pockets. Tom sternly looks at Mikey's face. "Take your hands out of your pockets."

Mikey does nervously and slowly, revealing he wasn't holding anything, much to the relief of Tom.

Tom gets his smirk back. "How are you holding up since we went all Tiger Woods on you a few years ago?"

Mikey looks down and closes his eyes. "You broke eight of my ribs. They're healed, but they still bother me sometimes."

Tom doesn't break his glare at Mikey, but inside, he does feel a bit of remorse. Oh well, he can't show that.

Instead, Tom walks up and gets in Mikey's face. The smirk turns into a sneer. "You nearly got one of my good friends killed because 'you were a few digits off'."

A now very-nervous Mikey cuts Tom off. "I KNOW! I KNOW! They must have changed the code right before you got there! I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"

Tom nods his head, apparently satisfied. He backs off a step. "Good. Now, all I need is information on someone."

Mikey nods his head quickly, calming down from his previous fear-filled response. "Sure, anything you need. Who?"

Tom snap-replies "The Count."

Mikey thinks for a bit, then tilts his head. "There's a few people that use that nickname. Where is your guy from?"

Tom replies "Apparently, he operates out of Bucharest."

Mikey nods his head and looks like a lightbulb went off in his head. "Ah, that one. I know a little bit about him. What do you need to know?"

Tom relaxes a bit, but keeps a stern look on his face. "Just basics. We know what he looks like, we just need to know how he operates and if he has any weaknesses."

Mikey nods his head again. "He's kind of a recluse, a guy who really does live the vampire lifestyle. He only deals with people he has a high level of trust with. If he doesn't know you, he gets a little jumpy. Are you the man that's meeting him?"

Tom shakes his head. "No, another agent is en route to Bucharest as we speak. She has no prior dealings with him."

Mikey winces a bit. "This could be a problem. Females make him flighty."

Tom chuckles and shakes his head. "Nah, she's good at what she does, plus she'll have backup if anything gets out of hand. Does this person have a name, or is 'The Count' the name his mommy and daddy gave him?"

Mikey laughs nervously. "No, he has a real name! Andres Djerescu...with a 'D'. Former Romanian national..." Mikey looks like he's drawing a blank now. "I'm afraid that's about all I know about him. That guy doesn't get out much!"

Tom nods. That's enough for him. A name and some personality traits. Oh, there was something else..."One other thing, Mikey. A woman committed suicide after being infected by a drug that causes a melatonin imbalance. Her last words were 'tell them it's funny'. Does that mean anything to you?"

Mikey shrugs. "Not to me, personally. But...I've heard this expression used among the science community. I can do some digging and give you a call if I find anything."

Tom nods his head satisfied. Internally, he's pleasantly surprised. This actually has turned out to be a productive meeting. 

"Anything else?" Mikey asks with a bit of nervousness in his voice.

A productive witness needs to be rewarded. But in Mikey's case, a bridge also needs a bit of mending still. Tom reaches into his right pocket and pulls out a business card and a wad of cash. He hands both to Mikey. "There's my card, call me on my office number if you find anything. It goes directly to my phone. And there's the money I promised you." Tom turns and starts walking away.

From behind Tom's back, we can hear Mikey say "Thank you for letting me be of serv..." Mikey has stopped because, as he's counting his money, he notices something out of place. "Tom! This is more than our agreed upon price!"

Tom, still walking away, now has a smile on his face. "Next time I talk to you, I hope you remember my generosity!"

Mikey cracks a wide smile on his face. This meeting went better than expected for him, too.

* * *

Tom punches a number on his cell phone once he gets into the driver's seat of his Cadillac.

On the plane that's bound for Bucharest, Jack Bristow's cell phone rings. He looks down and recognizes the number and answers. "Tom? You have something?"

Tom cracks a smirk as he turns on the ignition. "Yeah, my guy came through. 'The Count' is really a former Romanian national named Andres Djerescu, that's D-J-E-R..."

Jack nods his head impatiently. "I know the spelling. Anything else?"

Tom nods. "Yeah, Sydney needs to be EXTRA careful when meeting with him. Apparently he's not the most social guy in Bucharest. He gets jumpy if someone he doesn't know tries to start up a conversation with him...especially of the female variety. I'd make sure you or Vaughn are nearby in case he gets hostile."

Jack nods his head. "I suspected as such. Anyway, we'll look up Djerescu's information from here. Thanks for the help."

Jack hangs up before Tom can return the thanks. Tom just shrugs a bit, then smiles widely. For the first time in months, he feels useful again. "Mission accomplished" he utters as he drives off.

* * *

_**APO** _

Tom sits back down at his desk, having just returned from his meeting with Mikey. Nadia is sitting at her desk and notices that Tom has a happy expression on his face. "You seem really happy about something!"

Tom looks over at Nadia with a wide smirk. "Just a small victory. Had a meeting with an informant that I thought I might have burned a couple years ago. Turns out, with some people, bridges can be mended no matter how much in disrepair they are. Once I got done with this guy, I was able to relay some valuable information for Sydney's meet in Bucharest."

Nadia nods her head and smiles, but doesn't say anything before returning to her work. She seems pre-occupied on something.

Tom takes notice of this. "What are you working on?"

Nadia sighs, a sign her task is getting under her skin. "I'm trying to figure out what Nancy meant by 'tell them it's funny'. Tell WHO it's funny? My father wants me to answer that question and he wants an answer soon."

Just as she says that, Tom's phone rings. Tom doesn't recognize the number offhand, but he answers it anyway. "Hello? Tom Falk's desk."

Through the phone, Tom hears "Tom, It's Mikey. I just found out the meaning behind 'tell them it's funny'."

Tom scrambles to find a pen and paper. "Ok, what did you find out?"

Mikey, from the phone, says "'Tell them it's funny' translates into 'Grappig'. There is a loose group of biochemists called the 'Grappig Group'. They're based out of Prague and their leader is a doctor named Milan Lutuza."

Tom is quickly jotting down this information. He starts to laugh a bit, which causes Nadia to look at him a little funny. Tom finishes writing down the information and casually drops his pen. "Mikey, you've been a big help. Thanks!"

Tom quickly slams down the phone. Nadia is now really curious about Tom's antics. "What was that about?"

Tom rips off the sheet of paper he wrote on and slaps it on Nadia's desk in front of her triumphantly. "I just solved your problem. Go take that to your dad."

Nadia looks over Tom's notes, then reaches over to hand them back. "I can't, you found the information."

Tom pushes Nadia's hand with the notes away. "No, it's ok. Sloane tasked you to that job, I'd be an ass if I took your glory from you."

Nadia wants to be flattered, but she senses something else is afoot here. "I can't take the credit for your work..."

Tom, who was typing a report on his computer, now turns back to Nadia with furrowed eyebrows, the starting signs of irritation. "If I took this to your father, I'd make you look bad. Plus, don't take this personally, but I honestly don't care if Sloane is happy with my work or not. His opinion means next to nothing to me."

Nadia now looks really confused. "Tom, what do you have against..."

Tom, now more than a little irritated at Nadia's unfinished question, cuts her off. "Another time." Tom now forces a smile on his face. "Now, go get him that information."

Nadia finally gets up and heads towards Sloane's office, but doesn't seem too happy about it. Tom notices that and sighs. To himself, he mumbles "Guess I can't make everyone happy today."

* * *

_Episode Note: Tom's information helps lead Jack and Vaughn to get a cure for Sydney's condition. The following scene takes place after Dixon's meeting with Sloane, after Dixon promises to "be waiting" after Sloane reveals his true endgame._

* * *

_**Sloane's office** _

As Dixon walks out of the office, Tom is walking in. Tom and Dixon exchange a quick, yet cordial headnod as Sloane returns to his seat behind the desk. As Dixon walks away, Tom notices how upset he was. Sounds like Sloane's having a hard time making friends today.

Still, that doesn't stop Tom from walking towards Sloane. He's not exactly looking forward to this meeting, knowing what it's probably about. Tom tries to keep a neutral expression on his face as he stops in front of Sloane's desk. "You wanted to see me?"

Sloane leans back in his chair and has a smile on his face. "You did good work today. The information you provided over the phone to Jack was very helpful."

Thinking that Sloane believes Nadia found the Grappig information and not him, Tom shrugs a bit and plays it nonchalantly. "No problem. Always good to learn that some bridges you thought you burned in the past are easier to fix than you thought."

Sloane looks away for a bit. "Nadia came in to my office with the information on the Grappig Group. Information that she says..." Sloane glares back at him. "YOU actually found."

Tom now gets an irritated look on his face. Why would she rat him out like that? He wanted her to have the glory, partly just as a nice gesture, but also because of his feelings about Sloane. Tom, not hiding his irritation anymore, says "You tasked that information to her. I merely got lucky when my informant researched that information. I didn't want to steal her thunder."

Sloane doesn't seem convinced. "She didn't feel comfortable taking the credit."

Tom nods his head. "Well, I'll go apologize to her then. I just didn't feel right taking the credit for something you assigned her."

Tom starts to turn away, but is stopped by Sloane's stern voice. "Stop, I'm not finished." Tom turns back around to face Sloane, who keeps his gaze at Tom and says "I understand you don't feel the need to let me in on things that you do here."

Tom takes a deep breath. Did Nadia rat him out on that, too? "Says who?" Tom asks, a little frustrated.

Sloane, rather dryly, says "Jack told me before he left. He also says that you have some animosity towards me. That you don't feel I'm worthy of your respect."

Now, Tom is pissed. But not so much at Sloane as he is himself. He's now wondering if he read Jack completely wrong. Still, there is a problem in front of him he needs to address. "I'm not in the business of impressing criminals...or absentee fathers."

Sloane cracks open a small smile at that last part. "Ah, so that's why. You feel I've mistreated Nadia in the past..."

Tom can now feel the anger in him bubbling up to the surface as he cuts Sloane off. "...NO! You've mistreated Nadia her whole freaking life!"

Sloane isn't the least bit phased by Tom's anger. "Why do you feel that is your cross to bear? My issues with Nadia are none of your concern."

Tom leans across the table and gets as close to Sloane's face as he can. If he were a volcano, he'd be spewing lava now. With a snarl that would make a bulldog blush, Tom growls "Nadia holds a very special place in my heart. She saved my life three and a half years ago and I owe her my entire freaking existence on this earth for that! Besides, it's clear that you don't know a damn thing about me. If you read my file, you'd know that I often chose to be a lightning rod for my tactical team. I've also done things in my life that I know have earned me a one-way ticket to hell. But, as long as a heart beats in my chest, I'll always look out for my friends. Because they're worth a whole lot more than I am. That's what I did tonight, and that's what I'll keep doing."

Tom keeps his angry gaze at Sloane. Internally, Tom is a bit disappointed in himself. Normally, he wouldn't show his hand like that. But, he just couldn't contain himself. At least he didn't do something else with his anger. Something he really would have regretted.

After a few seconds, Sloane speaks up. "That's very interesting. I do appreciate you looking out for Nadia. And, for what it's worth to you, I do appreciate the work you did today. But you're wrong if you think that my opinion doesn't count for anything. I need to know that you'll be forthcoming in the future if you come across anything."

Tom leans back from the table. He sighs, trying to calm down a little like a volcano that has no more lava to spew. But Tom realizes that will take more than just the few seconds he has left with Sloane. Grudgingly, Tom says "Fine. Anything else?"

Sloane shakes his head quickly. "No, have yourself a good night."

Tom turns and leaves the office, a little frustrated at Sloane and a little frustrated at himself. It had been a pretty good day up to this point.

* * *

**_Tom's desk_ **

A visibly-disappointed Tom walks to his desk and starts gathering his things to go home. He's less than careful with his things as he shoves things into shelves in his desk and into his coat pocket.

Nadia notices Tom's sour look and knows instantly what happened. "You talked to my father."

Tom stops what he's doing and looks at her with a look akin to what Julius Caesar gave Brutus way back when. "All I wanted to do was help you. That was the main reason why I had you deliver the information. If this made you look that much better in your father's eyes..."

Nadia cuts him off. "Tom, I'm my own woman. I've survived this long without many favors..."

This time, Tom cuts her off. "We both know why you had to fend for yourself. And that reason is sitting in the office I just walked out of."

Nadia sighs. She was worried that Tom's rift with Sloane was related to her. "Tom, I've forgiven my father for not being in my life. I want to believe he's changed. And I don't want my father to come between our friendship."

Tom looks down at the ground. He feels bad for Nadia. He knows all about absentee fathers, and holds no love for them whatsoever. But Nadia's case is different from his. His dad was just a drunk. Her dad is a true monster. But, Nadia wants him to be something else, and this troubles Tom. But he doesn't want Sloane to get between them either.

Tom looks back up at Nadia. "I want to believe he's a good person, too. For your sake. But, I'm finding that's a tough sell." Tom then sighs a bit. "However, I've learned in the past few years of being a leader that respect is earned through your actions. I might be willing to bury my feelings about your father eventually, but it's not going to come overnight."

Nadia looks down. "All I'm asking from my father is to try. And now, I'm asking you the same thing. Just try for me."

Tom then reaches out and gently grabs Nadia's hand. "Ok. I promise."

This comforts Nadia a lot. Nadia looks into Tom's eyes and smiles. "I appreciate it."

Seeing as levity has returned, Tom lets go of Nadia and finishes gathering his things. Meanwhile, Nadia starts gathering her things, too.

Suddenly, Tom feels a frog go up his throat, a sign of nerves. He's thinking about doing something that he knows might completely backfire on him. Tom looks back over at Nadia, wondering what she's going to say to what he's wanting to ask, and if he's risking blowing up years of friendship and admiration for one another over a poor hunch.

Screw it. He decides to just suck it up and ask. "Do you have a ride home?"

Nadia stops in her tracks. She actually hadn't thought about that. Normally, she rides home with Sydney, but she's in the hospital and Nadia's not sure where she keeps the car keys. Nadia looks over at Tom with an unsure look on her face. "Actually, no. I was going to take a bus, probably."

Tom interjects quickly. "Well, I can give you a lift if you want. Are you hungry?"

And with the tension in his voice and hope bursting out of his eyes just, Nadia now sees where this is going. She cracks a smirk, wanting to play with his psyche a bit. "Why? Are you asking me out on a date?"

Tom pops open a grin quickly and wastes no time in replying "Yes. I WILL treat you to something today, and if you won't take my information, maybe you'll take my gift of food."

Nadia laughs at that. She doesn't immediately answer, which makes Tom a little nervous. Luckily for him, Nadia's laughing both because Tom's joke was funny and also because she's happy he had the courage to ask. Finally, Nadia stops laughing and composes herself. "Ok! Ok! But, only if you take me to a place we can sit down and catch up. We really haven't had a chance to do that since you got here."

Tom smiles widely. "Might be hard at this time of night, but it's a deal! Let's go!" Tom and Nadia walk out together big smiles on their faces.

As they walk out, Tom thinks back about the day's events. He exercised a demon of his when he was able to use an informant he thought he had burned a long time ago. Then, he thought the day was lost when he clashed heads with Sloane.

But, as he walks out with Nadia to go out on a date, Tom realizes something:

This was the best day he's had in a year and a half. And technically, it wasn't even over yet.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	3. Picked Off

_Timeline of episode: Between Season 4, Episodes 6 and 7_

* * *

_**Kitchen 24 Diner (Los Angeles)** _

Tom and Nadia are seated at a private corner booth at a 24-hour diner in Los Angeles. They're the only ones in the place at this point, and other staff are busy cleaning off tables and setting chairs on top.

It's obvious on both their faces that they are really enjoying each other's company. Their plates are empty in front of them, and now, they're enjoying some mixed drinks. Nadia is drinking a mojito while Tom has what looks like a tequila sunrise.

Tom is laughing at something while Nadia has a wide smile on her face. Tom stops laughing for a bit to inquire about something he just heard Nadia say. "So, you accidentally set off the sprinklers, you're drenched from head to toe, and yet, you still have to blend in to the party? How did you pull that off?"

Nadia, still smiling wide, quickly replies "Well, I remembered the restrooms had these hand dryers..."

Tom's eyes open wide astonished. "You mean..."

"Yeah, I had to keep hitting the button! But I got dried off eventually! And the documents dried off before they got ruined. Then, I just made my way through the party and left. No one suspected a thing. It turned out ok."

Tom leans back and shakes his head in amazement. "Good thing your hair was shorter back then! Still, that's some pretty wild improvising."

Nadia non-chalantly shrugs, not as amazed about the story as Tom is having lived through it. "Whatever it takes...oh wait, that's your line." Nadia cracks a smirk at that last phrase.

Tom chuckles a bit at that. "Yeah, yeah, that was my motto. I'm surprised you would remember something like that."

Nadia rolls her eyes in feign irritation. "You only said it every time we would talk on the phone! You were a broken record!"

"Well, speaking of broken records, my 'whatever it takes' was your 'it turned out ok'. I didn't forget that either!"

Nadia leans back and folds her arms in mock disgust, but doesn't say anything as she fidgets with her glass a bit.

Tom notices his drink is getting empty and so is Nadia's. "You want another one?"

Nadia nods her head. "Sure! Thank goodness we're off tomorrow!"

Tom turns and flags down a waiter, who walks over to their table. "Mojito for her, and change my drink to a Vanilla Coke." The waiter nods and walks off.

Nadia notices that Tom didn't order alcohol this time. In a somewhat mocking tone, she asks Tom "Chickening out already?"

Tom raises an eyebrow at Nadia. "Uh, do you want me to be able to drive you home or not? When it comes to tequila-based drinks, I'm a lightweight."

Nadia smirks, but doesn't say anything. Then, her cheery expression turns into a serious one as she stares at the table for a bit, troubled over something.

Tom notices that Nadia appears to be in deep thought now. "You ok, Nadia?"

Nadia looks back up at Tom with look of concern. "I've been thinking about something you said at your first day in APO."

Tom leans forward on the table. He's also a little concerned now. "What is it?"

"You said you have no family and only three friends left on this earth, including me. I always thought you were surrounded by people you were close with."

Tom sighs and looks down at the table. He and Nadia had spent most of their conversation talking about Nadia's experiences. But, he knew he was going to have to address some of his past at some point. But not now. He's having too much fun, and the tenor of the evening was cheerful, and he didn't want to ruin that. Tom looks back up at Nadia. "I want this night to be a happy one. Maybe another time."

Nadia sighs a bit, then smiles. He does have a point, after all. They were having fun. "I'm sorry I brought that up. But, I've been sharing my stories, let's hear some of yours."

" _Oh great, out of the frying pan and into the fire!"_ Tom thinks to himself. After all, he knows that things started going to hell for him in Dark Cover not long after he stopped talking to Nadia. Then, he gets an idea. "I don't think I talked to you much about my career before we met in 2001."

"No, you haven't, actually." Nadia says with a look of intrigue.

Tom starts to talk, but is interrupted by the waiter dropping off their drinks. They both take a sip of their drinks as the waiter walks off. This buys Tom some time to think about how he's going to play this.

After Tom sets his soda down, he continues. "Well, I've never told you about this part of my career...partly because there's elements of that part of my life I'm not overly proud of. But, a few months before I met you, I was finishing up a 10 year run with the CIA's Anti-Cartel."

Nadia tilts her head a bit and has a confused expression on her face. "The Anti-Cartel? I've never heard of you guys."

Tom nods his head, expecting that answer. "We didn't go down to Argentina all that often. Most of our focus was in Mexico and some of its neighbors to the south. We actually had special jurisdictional privileges in Mexico and some of those countries to go after the drug cartels. Our big concerns were the Mexican drug and weapon cartels. We would go into Central and South America only if they were doing things that were really pissing the CIA off, like if a gang was dealing weapons to dictators or getting into the business of holding big ticket hostages."

Nadia folds her arms together and leans forward. "Still, seems like I should have heard about you guys. We had our eyes on a lot of Central and South American countries back when I was in SIDE's drug division."

Tom shrugs. "We weren't a big operation. Unlike running a 10-man tactical team in Dark Cover, there were maybe 3-5 guys in my team at any given time. When I first got there, the operation was well-funded, well-staffed, and under the direction of a director that I respected. But after he left, it all went to hell. By the time you got your start in Argentine Intelligence, we were on our last legs."

Nadia takes a drink of her Mojito. As she drinks, a lightbulb goes off in her head, causing her to snap her fingers. "You know, come to think of it, I did hear some stories of an American agent that liked to cause havoc with Latin American gangs. One man who usually was with a group of two or three others. They say cartels were frightened of this guy like he was the Devil himself! Was that you?"

Tom takes his time drinking his soda, trying to figure out how to handle that.  _"What stories did she hear? If she knew certain stories, she'd probably think I was a monster."_  He then sets down his soda, ready to answer. "That was probably me you heard about. I had a bit of infamy in Mexico, and a lot of it was deserved. I had to be both creative and...aggressive when it came to my dealings."

After that last comment, a lightbulb goes off in Tom's head now...a way to keep this conversation from getting dark. He starts laughing all of the sudden, which confuses Nadia a bit. "What's so funny?" Nadia asks.

Tom slowly stops laughing and starts to speak. "You remember my friend Mike, right? He was with me in our mission in 2001."

"Yeah, the guy with the beard...kind of a quiet, yet kind of cute guy?" she says with a bit of a twinkle in her eye.

Tom chuckles at that. "Yeah, he's pretty laid back. And he'll probably never get married in his life. The guy's eternally single. Anyway, I was just thinking back to a mission where we thought we had lost him."

"Lost him?"

With a quick nod, Tom continues "We were in southern Mexico, tracking down a weapon-trading ring. Me, Mike, and two others. Mike tells me he's going down to get a burrito...and he never comes back. We were just convinced that this cartel we were after had gotten to him. So, we infiltrate their compound, and we fight our way down to the area where they keep the prisoners. He's not there. Good news is, during our search and rescue, we did find their cache of weapons, and we get the Mexican authorities to raid the place. Mission accomplished! But, we still couldn't find Mike!"

"Where was he?" Nadia says as she takes a sip off her mojito, her eyes glued to Tom's as she's listening to the story.

Tom gets a wide smirk on his face. "Get this. We get back to our hotel room and we find a note on the door. It's from these local wanna-be gangbangers who are holding him ransom down in the basement of the place. Apparently, he wouldn't buy them a burrito and he wouldn't give them his wallet either. So, here's what we did. We went down and bought them burritos. A bunch of them. We went down to the basement and we were able to negotiate his release for the burritos. Three men, and each of them got like 4 burritos apiece. But, their fun was just beginning. You know those red dye packs that tellers put in their bank bags when they're being robbed?"

Nadia leans forward after setting down her drink quickly, anxious over how this ends. "Yeah..."

"Well, one of my men was really good with explosives. Don't ask me why, but he brought this red dye pack with him that had a remote trigger on it. So, we pack our things, leave, and catch up with these guys as they're leaving the hotel. We follow them until we see a police car coming our direction. My man hits the button to make the dye pack go off, we see the red dye go all over the inside of their car and all over the windows, and they end up blindly crashing into the cop car. Turns out, the cops found more than burritos and red dye on them."

"What did they find?"

Tom smirks and says "Pure black tar heroin. Right after he was rescued, Mike had let me in that they were heroin suppliers, so we baited them with the burritos. Made the local papers, mainly because when they took their prison photos, they had red dye all over them!"

Nadia laughs out loud. "That's too funny!" As Tom takes another drink of his soda, Nadia can't help but keep looking into his blue eyes as she stops laughing. She appears to really be comfortable around Tom. As she grabs her glass once again, Tom notices that her smile seems permanently etched on her face.

This might actually be working. Dammit, he might actually have a chance.

But before over-confidence takes over for him, Tom suddenly looks down at his watch and looks shocked. "Whoa, did you know it's 2:30 in the morning?"

Nadia almost chokes on her drink. "What? We've been here for 4 and a half hours?"

"Time flies when you're having fun! Want me to take you home now?"

Nadia nods. "Yeah, that'd be great."

The two of them squeeze out of their booth. Tom pays his bill at the front register, then leaves with Nadia.

* * *

_**Outside Sydney's apartment** _

Tom follows Nadia up to the front door. He's got a wide smile on his face, still in disbelief over how well this day has gone for him. His smile is matched by Nadia's.

They get to the door and Nadia stops and turns towards Tom. She's practically beaming as she says "I had such a great time tonight! It felt so good to reconnect with you again."

Tom nods his head a bit bashfully, but also in agreement with what Nadia just said. "I couldn't agree more. It was so great to catch up. You know what made tonight so great?"

"Our stories?"

Tom laughs. "Well, I did enjoy getting to hear some of your war stories, too, but it's something more than that." Tom then proceeds to look deeply into Nadia's eyes with a look of humility and sincerity. "For the first time in my life, I can talk to a woman I deeply care about and not have to keep my CIA life a secret. I felt so free at the diner tonight with you. I feel so free with you standing right in front of me!"

Nadia smiles and looks down at the ground for a brief second before looking back up at Tom. "I'm glad you feel like that around me, and I'm flattered for that. And I know what you mean about our secret lives not needing to be a secret to each other, it's refreshing."

Tom nods, but doesn't really have a retort to any of that. For the first time all night, an awkward silence takes over for a few seconds. Both look like they're waiting for the other to do...well, something.

Finally, Nadia breaks the sudden ice. "Thanks for the wonderful evening. I needed this."

Tom, almost panicky, fires back "Me too."

And then, he can't hold back any longer. Like a cat suddenly springing into action, he leans forward and gives Nadia a kiss.

After a second or two, Tom doesn't notice Nadia pull back or make any muffled sounds of protest. Instead, he feels her hand on the back of his head, pushing him in closer. His play worked, and it's working very well, actually. This woman who Tom adores more than she probably realizes is in his arms and currently lip-locked with him. 

But what Tom doesn't realize is how hard Nadia is holding on to him, how hard she drives him back into the wall behind him...and how much she's enjoying this, too. 

The next 10 seconds or so seem to be an eternity for them as they continue to make out on Sydney's porch. Both lose complete awareness of their surroundings as they get further lost in each other's love.

But, the tender moment would suddenly interrupted by the door opening next to them. Tom and Nadia both jump off each other and yell out in surprise at the sound of the door.

In her shock, Nadia yells out "Sydney!", followed by Sydney turning and yelling out "Tom!", followed by Tom turning and yelling out "Vaughn!", and followed by Vaughn, right on cue, turning and yelling "Nadia!"

The four keep standing there for a bit, all four in surprise to see each other...Tom and Nadia are surprised they're actually there, Vaughn and Sydney surprised that the two were engaged in a tonsil hockey match.

Finally, Nadia speaks up. "Sydney, I thought you were in the hospital!"

Sydney quickly replies "I just got home a half an hour ago...I heard a bang outside the door!"

Tom looks at Sydney a little agitated. "Well, you just picked me off of first base, thank you!"

Sydney puts her hand to her mouth. "Oh, I'm SO sorry!"

Tom chuckles and holds his hand up to calm her down. "It's ok, it's ok..." Tom turns and faces Nadia, a bit sad that he couldn't make out with her more. "Well, on that note, I guess I should be heading off then..."

Sydney cuts him off. "Oh, you don't have to go. Me and Vaughn were just going to settle down and watch a movie. You can stay and watch with us if you want."

Tom shakes his head quickly. "No, I don't want to impose..."

Nadia cuts him off and grabs his arm like a snake lashing out at prey. "No! You look tired. And, on the way back, you told me you live a little ways away from here. I want you to stay here and get some rest."

Tom looks up and thinks. He is starting to drag a bit, and the prospect of driving anywhere seems less attractive to him. Tom looks back at Nadia, a beautiful woman and one of the few friends he has left, and smiles. He then turns to Sydney. "Well, if you two insist...I guess I can stay."

Nadia was happy to hear that. "Good! I'll make us some decaf, I need to shake this buzz!"

Tom laughs and looks over at Sydney. "Word of advice, don't ever get into a drinking game with your sister. She must have had 4 or 5 mojitos tonight and she's sober as a bird, I don't care what she says."

Sydney and Nadia both laugh. Nadia just shrugs a bit after laughing while Sydney tells Tom "I appreciate the advice! Now, come on in! It's a little chilly."

Tom and Nadia follow her command and enter. Nadia holds Tom's hand after they enter and looks up at Tom with a smile. "I'll show you around!"

"You really like giving tours, don't you?" Tom says sarcastically.

Nadia looks up at Tom and motions him to lean over. After he does, Nadia whispers in Tom's ear "Almost as much as I like kissing you!" And to prove that point, Nadia gives Tom a kiss on the cheek, then takes his hand and leads him into the house for the tour.

Did that just happen? Did the make-out just happen? Did the four hour catch-up session at the diner happen? Tom can't believe how well this night is going for him. But more importantly: Did Nadia feel the same way about him all this time?

* * *

_**Sydney's Apartment- The Next Morning** _

The clock on the microwave says it's 10:27. The sun is out, and Sydney stands in the kitchen in her pajamas making coffee. Vaughn and Nadia are sitting at the breakfast bar and look like they just woke up recently too.

They're started by the sound of a sudden snore from behind them. Nadia looks back into the living room and sees a pair of feet hanging from the couch. She smiles, knowing it's Tom Falk.

Tom actually surprised her last night on the front porch, lunging in for the kiss like he did. As Nadia observed Tom at the diner, she realized that Tom was just completely enamored with her. But she also noticed some hesitation from him at times, like he was trying to be careful with his words, afraid that he'd blow everything with one slip of the tongue. But what he didn't say with his mouth was being spoken to her with his eyes. Those dark, blue eyes appeared to be just totally enchanted with hers.

She loved that. She absolutely loved that. And as she looks at Tom's feet hanging off the couch, she realizes she might have something special here with Tom.

Nadia turns back around with a confident grin as Sydney pours her a cup of coffee. As she's pouring, Sydney asks Nadia "So, where did you two go last night? We all fell asleep before the movie ended and I never got to ask."

Nadia grabs the cup of coffee as Sydney finishes pouring and starts pouring Vaughn a cup. She takes a second to blow on the coffee a bit to cool it off, then says "We went to this 24-hour diner called Kitchen 24."

From Nadia's right, Vaughn tells her "Ah, I know that place. Great danishes."

"Wish I had known that!" She then turns back to Sydney, who's handing Vaughn his coffee. "Anyway, it was so wonderful! We had dinner, then just chatted. It felt so good to reconnect with him. It went so well, before we knew it, we had been there for over four hours."

Sydney puts the coffee pot away and returns to the counter next to the kitchen sink and leans forward, smiling over the fact that Nadia had fun. "Sounds like you two had a lot of catching up to do."

Nadia nods as she takes a sip of her coffee. "Yeah, we did. We both missed each other."

Vaughn, finishing taking a sip of coffee, asks Nadia "I've been curious, how did you two first meet?"

Nadia gives an embarrassed smile and just shakes her head as she turns away.

Sydney notices her reluctance and now is really curious. "Come on! I bet it's a good story!"

Nadia takes another sip of coffee and sets down her cup. "Ok! It's July of 2001. I was still a trainee for SIDE, but I was due to be made a full agent. I was partnered with a veteran agent named Pedro Colon, and one day, we both were assigned to assist a black-ops CIA division in rescuing a doctor from a local gang called Los Conquistadores. So, we meet in the hotel cantina. I was to told to scan the place before I made my way to their table because, apparently, Tom's team had caused a scene with the Conquistadores earlier that day."

Vaughn tilts his head, confused at that. "What did he do?"

"He was scouting their main compound when apparently he stepped on a twig and got discovered. During their escape, one of his team members snipes the son of the gang leader, so we all were worried about retaliation. Luckily for us, I found nothing out of the ordinary at the cantina. So, I go to the table and I'm told that Tom is at the bar ordering drinks and that I should help him carry the drinks back. So, I go to the bar and..." Nadia laughs at the end of that.

Sydney looks over to the couch and sees Tom's feet stir a bit, but he doesn't wake up. Still looking at Tom's feet, Sydney asks Nadia "What happened at the bar?"

Nadia, oblivious to what Sydney is looking at, says "Well, when we both laid eyes on each other at the bar...something weird happened to me. He felt that same feeling. I could tell, he couldn't hide it. I think it was love at first sight, but something about it was...strange. Like I was looking at my destiny. I always thought something supernatural was happening, but as time went on, I just kinda laughed it off. But when I saw him again during his first day at APO, that strange feeling returned. It's almost as if we have this special...link with each other or something."

Sydney and Vaughn both stir a bit, not sure how to address that. Eventually, Sydney just shrugs. "Well, considering our roles with Rambaldi, I guess anything seems possible."

Nadia smiles a bit. She doesn't particularly like her role in Rambaldi's prophecy, but Sydney did bring up a good point.

Vaughn then speaks up. "Jack once told me that you saved his life. Was this the mission where that happened?"

Nadia looks over at Vaughn and nods. "Yeah. We infiltrated the compound and Tom had sent me and Pedro down the hallway to scout for any remaining gang members while he worked on the door that led to where his doctor was being held. Pedro sent me back and when I came back down the hallway, I saw two men with their backs to me. I heard someone talking from around the corner and then Tom's voice. I knew he was in trouble. I snuck up and peeked around the corner and saw that Tom was on his knees and he had a gun pointed at his head. He was a goner. I had to do something. But, up until that point of my career, I only had killed one man..." Nadia pauses for a bit and looks down at her coffee cup in thought.

Sydney, a little curious to see how this story ends, speaks up. "What did you do?"

Nadia looks up at Sydney. "I grabbed the guy immediately in front of me and used him as a shield while I killed the guy who had Tom marked for execution, and then I shot the guy to the immediate right of me before I shot my human shield in the back of the head. It all happened so fast! But what stood out afterwards was Tom's reaction!" Nadia starts to laugh again. Sydney and Vaughn crack cautious smiles. Nadia then slows down her laughing to say "He looked around really quickly and then turned and looked at me with this look of complete shock on this face for a few seconds. Then, he said..."

"Where have you been all my life?"

Nadia, Sydney, and Vaughn all jump when they hear that. They look over to the couch and see Tom is now standing and awake, still in the dress shirt and slacks that he wore yesterday. He looks a little drowsy, but he's got a big smirk on his face.

Sydney and Vaughn both say at the same time "Good morning!"

Tom just gives them a drowsy wave back and mumbles "morning".

Nadia then asks Tom "How long have you been awake?"

Tom laughs a bit. "Good morning to you too! I've been up since you started talking about our encounter at the cantina. I've always been curious how that story sounded from your point of view."

Nadia shifts in her chair a bit so she can face Tom more. With a confident grin, she playfully asks "How'd I do?"

Tom chuckles at Nadia's playfulness. "You told it good, and you pretty much got it down. Up until the point I cut you off, anyway."

Sydney then motions Tom over to the breakfast bar. "Come on, you can finish the story while I get you a cup of coffee."

Tom slowly makes his way over to the table. Before he takes his spot to the left of Nadia, he leans over and gives Nadia a peck on the cheek, which forces a big smile to form on Nadia's lips.

Upon hearing the kiss, Sydney, who has her back turned to them as she pours Tom a cup of coffee, says "I am SO sorry for interrupting you guys out on the porch last night. I should have looked out first, but I was a little paranoid still from the mission."

Tom takes his seat on a stool and dryly says with a smirk "Well, if your coffee's good, I guess I can forgive you." Sydney turns smiling as he says that with a cup of coffee and hands it to a smirking Tom. Tom takes it and takes a sip, then lets out a relieved sigh and says "All is forgiven."

Sydney giggles a bit, then says "Now come on, finish the story."

Tom looks over at Nadia, which forces his smile to grow. "Well, we got our doctor. I also ended up helping get Nadia promoted after I gave her a glowing review on her quick reaction skills in the field." Tom then hangs his head and turns away a little. "But, personally, I was tore up for a while after that mission."

Vaughn asks "Because you got put in a predicament? It happens..."

Tom looks at him and shakes his head slowly. "No. Because, after the mission was over, every fiber of my being wanted me to ask Nadia out on a date. But I couldn't because I was married at the time." Tom then looks down and shakes his head. "Little did I know that was about the time my marriage was starting to hit the skids. My ex was getting sick of my secret life. We lasted a little under two years after that mission, but one thing seemed to lead into another, she started cheating on me, and then, it all went to hell." Tom takes another drink of coffee, but looks like he's in a somber mood all of the sudden.

Nadia, sitting next to Tom and seeing down in the dumps, reaches over and rubs his shoulder a bit. "I'm so sorry, Tom. But, like you told me your first day at APO: Here we are. Right here, right now." A warm, comforting smile forms on Nadia's face.

Tom looks up and looks over at Nadia, who's sees that smile on her face, feels immediately reassured, and smiles back at her. "Exactly." Tom then goes back to his coffee and lifts up to take a sip.

Sydney notices a long, red scar running up Tom's hand and pinkie finger. "How did you get the scar on your hand?"

Tom stops in mid-sip and freezes. Vaughn and Nadia are also looking at the scar, and he knows it. He tries to hide his look of trepidation, but he can't. He thinks to himself  _"No! They've discovered the very thing I don't want them to know about me! If they know about how I got that scar, they'll know what happened on that day..."_

As he's thinking how he's going to wriggle himself out of this one, all four of their cell phones go off. Tom's is still in his pocket while Sydney's, Nadia's and Vaughn's are on the table. The all see the number. Nadia rolls her eyes. "Come on! On our day off?"

Tom looks up at Nadia real quickly. "Oh crap, I didn't bring a change of clothes with me! I can't go into work wearing yesterday's clothes, and I live too far away to swing by my apartment!"

Sydney smiles and says "I have you covered!" Sydney quickly scurries off into her bedroom, leaving the three to wonder what she's going to emerge with. Soon enough, she emerges with a suit jacket, dress shirt, pants, and a pink tie. "These belonged to Eric Weiss, the guy you replaced. He always kept these here in case he needed to crash here. When he left to join the NSC, he forgot to take them!"

Tom gets up and grabs them from Sydney. He immediately notices something about the clothes. They're huge. To no one in particular, he asks sarcastically "Who was this guy, Paul Bunyan?"

Vaughn gets a stern look on his face and says "Hey, that's my friend you're talking about..."

Tom flashes a surprised at Vaughn. Seeing as he was a little insensitive just now, he says "Sorry, man."

Vaughn's eyes open up and he smiles. He brushes the comment off with his hand. "I'm just kidding. We always joked about how tall Weiss was."

Tom smirks as he goes back to examining the clothes. "Well, the suit jacket is a bit big, but I can just wear the one I wore yesterday. I should be able to pull off everything else. Might need some clothespins for the pants, though, so I'm not walking all over the bottoms." Tom then lifts up the tie. "He had to choose pink..."

Nadia walks up from behind Tom and pats him on the back. "Pink is a good color for you!" Tom slowly turns his head at Nadia with an incredulous look, shakes his head, and walks off with the clothes to the bathroom, while the other three get moving so they can get changed too.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	4. Like Napoleon

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episode 7_

* * *

_Episode notes: In the actual series, this is the episode where Sydney and Nadia went to Monte Carlo to find out where a man named Boris Tambor keeps this explosive called Black Thorine. We pick things up in the APO Conference Room, just before the team is set to go out on the mission._

* * *

_**APO Conference Room** _

He just doesn't feel comfortable.

Tom is seated in the conference room, to the right of Nadia and Marshall and across the table from Sydney and Vaughn. Jack and Sloane are at the head of the table.

Tom's doing everything he can to get comfortable, but he can't. He keeps squirming. His dress shirt is just too big and his pants are just too baggy. And of course, he's still revolted at the prospect of wearing a pink tie.

Having already detailed the mission, the next task is field assignments. That's apparently Sloane's job, as he speaks up. "Sydney, Nadia, you two will infiltrate Tambor's suite and determine where he keeps the Black Thorine. Vaughn and Tom..."

Tom raises an eyebrow, forgetting his clothing discomfort. "You're gonna put me in, skipper?"

Sloane, unimpressed by Tom's sarcastic baseball humor, says "Yes, if you think you can handle it. You and Vaughn will be in support."

Tom cracks a trademark smirk and appears to not be finished being a smartass. "I won't let you down, coach!"

Tom's cavalier attitude gets some curious looks from other members of the team, topped off with a look of concern from Nadia. She asked Tom to at least try to get along with her father, but it doesn't look like Tom is doing a lot of trying.

Tom gets up to leave with the team, but Sloane has other ideas. "Tom, stay here, I need a word with you."

Tom, who was rather looking forward to being allowed to get a change of clothes, instead sinks back into his chair like it was made of quicksand as everyone else leaves the room.

Now, it's just Sloane and Tom. Tom folds his arms, waiting for Sloane to begin. Tom knows what's coming.

Sloane eyes him down a bit, then speaks. "Your appearance today is rather...interesting."

Tom chuckles and, while he was expecting a lecture on attitude, instead just shakes his head. "I crashed at Sydney's last night and I didn't bring a spare set of clothes with me."

Sloane raises a curious eyebrow. "Why were you at Sydney's last night?"

Like a viper, Tom snaps "Why do do you care?"

"You know why."

Tom stands up and leans forward on the desk towards Sloane. "I took your daughter out for dinner and drinks, and Sydney and her didn't feel comfortable with me driving home and asked that I stay the night, so I crashed on the couch. The. End."

Sloane keeps his incredulous look. "Is that what happened?"

Tom furrows his eyebrows and looks pissed now. "I don't have to explain a damn thing I do with Nadia to you. For the record, nothing happened. Let this be the last time we discuss my personal life, got it?"

Sloane smirks. "Understood. And you're right, Nadia's a grown woman and can make her own decisions on who she sees."

Tom keeps his angry glare at Sloane. "Can I go now? Are we done here?"

Sloane turns and grabs a file at the head of the table where he was sitting. "I did some homework on you last night."

Tom fidgets a bit, but doesn't break his glare. "Oh really?" Tom doesn't like where this is going. Not one bit.

Sloane looks back up at Tom with a downright unassuming glare. "Yes. Before you go out into the field, we need to assign you a codename. Looking at your file, I was thinking that maybe you'd like to go back to your Anti-Cartel roots and become 'Halcon Diablo' again."

Tom opens his mouth slightly, a little shocked at hearing those words again. They represent a part of his life that he never wants to unearth again. "Only gang members that hated my ever-living guts called me that, Sloane."

Sloane smirks. "Of course. And from what I read about you, it would seem they had some valid reasons for calling you 'the Falcon Devil'. Funny, I thought you were just a little truculent when I first met you, but I didn't have you pegged as a monster."

Tom gets in Sloane's face, suddenly ready to let him sample some of that monster. "I may have been an evil man in the past, but at least I don't destroy the lives of my own friends and family to get the results I want."

If Tom wanted Sloane to be humbled, by those words, it didn't work. In fact, Sloane was prepared. "If you don't destroy the lives of your friends, then how do you explain what happened in Torino in mid-2003?"

Tom closes his eyes. He can feel the hate and anger rising in him, ready to blow like a molotov cocktail. Sloane just crossed a line that Tom did not want crossed. However, Tom realizes that he can't show his weakness to Sloane, so he takes a deep breath, opens his eyes, and refuses to let Sloane get the best of him this time. "What happened in Torino was an accident, caused in part by a rat on my own team, a rat that met his own fate in that very mission. And as far as being 'a monster' goes, I am not that man anymore. Let me give you a piece of advice: if you assign me that codename, not only would I get a bullet put in my brain if we ever had a mission in Mexico or Central America, but whoever else was with me would get one too. Give me a different name."

Sloane sets down the file and relents, his point apparently having been made. "As you wish. I liked the codename you used in Dark Cover better, anyway."

Tom unclinches his fists for the first time since this encounter started, feeling the blood flow through his fingers once again. Tom nods in agreement as he backs off from Sloane. "Maximus it is then."

Sloane gives a quick headnod. "Good, it's settled then." Sloane then reaches out his hand in Tom's direction for a handshake. "I also wanted wish you good luck out there. I know you'll do a good job for us."

Tom looks at the hand for a while, then back up at Sloane. After the exchange they just had, he doesn't seem to be too willing to shake Sloane's hand. "Noted. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to change out of Andre The Giant's clothes and get ready for the mission."

Tom then turns and starts walking towards the door, not giving Sloane a chance to respond. He's had about all the Sloane he can take for now. But, before he gets to the doors, he stops and turns back to Sloane, ready to fire one last jab. "Oh, and in case you give a damn, Nadia had a great time last night."

Sloane gives Tom a sarcastic smile in response. "That's good to hear. Maybe she'll tell me about it later."

Tom gives Sloane a dismissive shrug. "Hey, Nadia is a grown woman and she can make her own decisions on who she tells about her late nights with savage ex-cartel hunters!" Tom gives Sloane a quick up and down raise of the eyebrows, then walks off with a cocky swagger, not seeing Sloane showing signs of fuming at him.

But as Tom walked towards the entrance of APO, he felt both angry and relieved. Angry that he let Sloane get into his head, but relieved that he didn't do something he would have regretted. He also felt satisfied with the encounter that just happened. He established that he's not going to back down to Sloane. He knows that Sloane has more tricks up his sleeve, but he wants to show Sloane that he's not just a blunt force object. He wants to slow Sloane that, in addition to his don't-give-a-damn attitude towards him, that he can stand toe-to-toe with him, too.

Oh, and he still felt uncomfortable in Weiss's clothes.

* * *

_**Monte Carlo** _

_Episode note: The mission goes as it happened in the actual episode. Sydney and Nadia defy Sloane's orders and become BFFs with Tambor's ladyfriend, which gains them access to his suite. Nadia successfully clones Tambor's PDA, but nearly gets caught red-handed with it when Tambor gets up as Nadia was slipping the PDA back into his suit jacket. But, Nadia saves the day by saying she found it in the couch. Meanwhile, Tom's role in this mission is similar to Weiss's, which is mostly fawning over Nadia. However, I found it hard to write his lines without writing out the complete mission details. Let's just say Tom was very impressed with Nadia's improvisational skills. We pick back up after Sloane scolds Sydney and Nadia for their actions in Monte Carlo._

* * *

_**Tom and Nadia's desk** _

We catch up with Tom at his desk, filling out what appears to be a report of some kind. As he's doing that, he's smiling. It felt good to be back out in the field, even if his role in the mission was a minor one. It also felt good seeing Nadia in action and pulling off a miracle.

Just as he's thinking that, he looks up and notices Nadia walk by and sit down at her desk. Tom looks cheery and about to say something, but he notices that she has a long look on her face. Immediately, he changes course. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Nadia looks at Tom a little somber. "My father was unhappy that me and Sydney defied his orders."

Tom turns around and looks into Sloane's office. He sees Sloane is now talking with Jack about something. He turns back around to Nadia a little irritated. "We got the job done! No harm, no foul!"

Nadia shakes her head. "He's right, we should have been more careful..."

"Nadia, that's insane and you know it!" Any pretense of Tom being in a good mood is quickly going out the window. "You've been an agent for several years now, and you know as well as I do that you have to trust your instincts in the field and never second-guess yourself. You and Sydney made a judgment call based on those instincts. Decisions like that are best left to the people at the scene, not 1,000 miles away."

Nadia, a little defiantly, says "If it was your father, and if he was your boss and after the mission, he told you that you should have followed his lead, what would you have done?"

Tom laughs at that comment. "My father was a drunk Vietnam veteran who abandoned me when I was still a baby, so if he was giving me orders like that today, if he were still alive, I'd probably punch him in the mouth! But even if it wasn't my own flesh and blood giving me orders and it was just my boss, I would have made a judgment call like you did in Monte Carlo and I would have stood my ground when I came home and faced the consequences." Tom then reaches over and grabs Nadia's hand gently and rubs it a little with his hand, part of his attempt at setting her mind at ease. "Nadia, those instincts of yours saved my life all those years ago. If we're going to be working together, I would feel much better in the field knowing that you still have those instincts. Don't ever second-guess yourself. You did the right thing in Monte Carlo."

All Nadia can do is look down at her desk, still somber. She doesn't say anything for a few seconds. Suddenly, she pulls her hand away from Tom and stands up. "I have to work on the final report with my sister." Nadia then walks away, not sure what to think.

As she walks away, Tom can tell in her expression and body language that she's torn up inside. Tom looks back at Sloane in his office, then back at Nadia. Tom then shakes his head in disgust.  _"He better not have ruined her..."_  he thinks.

For a second time, he turns back to Sloane's office. Jack has left the office, and Sloane looks like he's writing something. That anger that started boiling up in Tom in the conference room with Sloane before the mission was returning. And this time, Tom can't control it.

Tom stands up quickly and marches angrily towards Sloane's office.

* * *

_**Sloane's office** _

Sloane is startled by the sound of Tom pushing the doors open quickly. Dismissing Tom's angry look, Sloane gets up and says "Good job in..."

But, before he can finish, an angry Tom cuts him off. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Sloane's neutral expression turns into an angry one that matches Tom's mood quite nicely. "What are you talking about?"

"What good do you think you're doing putting doubt in Nadia's mind? You, of all people, should know that you NEVER second-guess yourself in the field! But, all you did with your little scolding session with Nadia earlier was completely twist her mind into knots!"

Sloane lets those words sink in a bit before responding. "So, you think that Sydney and Nadia were justified in taking that great risk in Monte Carlo?"

Tom leans forward, his hands pressing into the desk. "They made a judgment call. As I just got done telling to Nadia, decisions like that are best made by the people at the scene, not 1,000 miles away. Quite frankly, I find it appalling that you have such little faith in your agents."

"It's not that I don't have faith in their abilities. I thought what they did posed too much of a risk. If they had failed, how would you have felt now?"

Tom shakes his head in total disagreement. "If you start thinking 'what if I fail' in the field, you might as well just accept the fact that you WILL fail. These aren't rookies that you're supervising, Sloane. They know how to do their job, and in this case they did it well. But yet, here you are, messing with their minds. That's not leadership."

Sloane gets an angry look on his face. He's growing impatient with this conversation already, and if there's one thing that gets under Sloane's skin, it's getting his leadership questioned. "First of all, I don't need a lecture on leadership from you. Second, I didn't want to see Sydney or Nadia get hurt. If we couldn't get the info from the PDA this time, there's always another time. I cared about their well-being, so that's why I wanted them to abort."

Tom backs away from the desk, floored by that last sentence. Tom just thinks that last part was so fresh coming from him. With a very incredulous look on his face, he snaps back "If you cared so much about Nadia's well-being, how do you explain what you did to her when you whisked her away to Japan and injected her with shot after shot after shot of Rambaldi Fluid, you freaking hypocrite!?"

Sloane looks at him defiantly, looking enraged. "Get out of my office, I have nothing else to say to you!"

Tom doesn't obey. No, Tom's one angry bulldog right now, and you just can't get an angry, stubborn bulldog to stop when he's on a roll. He instead walks back to Sloane's desk and leans on it with a daring look on his face. "And what if I don't? Are you going to get Security Section on me and give me an early burial?"

Sloane, now visibly upset, says "No. As a matter of fact, I'm suspending you."

Tom quickly stands up straight. He can't believe what he just heard. But more importantly, if Tom was searching for a line to cross with Sloane, he's surprised he's suddenly found it. "YOU'RE WHAT?"

Sloane fires back "I won't tolerate insubordination on my team. I've had enough of your rancor towards me. I don't care if you don't like me, but you will respect me."

Tom shakes his head and starts pacing, still in disbelief. Did he just royally screw this up? Did he just screw things up with Nadia? Suddenly, he remembers that promise he made to her about trying to get along with Sloane. He has completely and uninhibitedly cast that promise aside.

As he's pacing, Sloane says "You're suspended for two weeks, effective immediately. You're lucky it's not more."

Tom looks back up at Sloane. What's he got to lose now? Actually, quite a bit, but Tom can't see beyond his complete lack of impulse control right now. Tom snaps and rushes to Sloane's desk. His look of disbelief has been replaced with a look of fury. "I just thought of something. I've been trying to figure out what historical leader I can compare you to. At first, I thought you were just too pathetic to even be mentioned along the lines of a great leader. But, I just figured out who you take after. Napoleon." Sloane says nothing, instead standing defiantly as Tom continues. "You're a little man like he was with this insatiable desire for power and respect. Like Napoleon, your tactics worked for a while. But like Napoleon, you got on your key soldiers' last nerves and a mutiny was led on you, shutting down SD-6 as we know it. And then, like Napoleon, you found yourself banished and out of the game for a while. But, hey, here we are!"

Tom then holds his arms out and turns and looks at the APO office. As he does that, Sloane picks up his phone and says "I need security to my office, please."

This just spurs a now-fanatical Tom even more. "Sloane, this is your Hundred Days! You've escaped your exile, you're back in power, and you're back in control! In control of the very people that mutinied against you. But you know what happened to Napoleon after his great return to glory?"

Tom pauses to give Sloane time to answer. Sloane remains unamused and unwilling to answer. Finally, two large men in suits enter Sloane's office.

Tom looks at them, then back at Sloane with a maniacal smirk. "I'll leave here in a bit, don't worry. But, you know what happened to Napoleon at the end of his Hundred Days? One giant colossal failure at Waterloo. After that, Napoleon was once again exiled and left to rot and die alone." Tom then leans forward and gets within inches of Sloane's face. "Ask yourself while I'm away for two weeks: When is your Waterloo going to happen?" Tom says with a haunting growl that shows Sloane a piece of that monster that he referenced in their last one-on-one.

Tom stares at Sloane for a few seconds before turning quickly and brushing by the large security guards.

* * *

_**APO office** _

Tom storms down the row of cubicles he's in. He's flanked by the security guards trying to keep up behind him. He has a look of sheer anger and defiance in his face. He's too angry to even feel stupid about what he just did. That would come later.

Eventually, he comes up to Sydney's desk, where Sydney and Nadia are going over details of the mission. Nadia notices Tom coming with the guards coming behind him. "Tom, what happened?" She asks, trying to make sense of what she's seeing.

Tom stops at those words in front of Sydney's desk. His look of anger and defiance still plastered on his face, he tells Nadia rather tersely "That piece of shit you call a father just suspended me two weeks!"

Sydney jumps out of her seat. "What? What for?"

Tom looks at Sydney, still angry. "Because I thought it was total bullshit that he would be angry with you two for a job well done, and I let him know about it!"

Sydney sinks back into her chair as a hurt Nadia says "Tom, why did you do..."

Tom doesn't give her a chance to finish. "Because he's a megalomaniacal jackoff, that's why! You both are supremely talented agents and you..."

This time, Nadia cuts him off. "He's just looking out for us!" She pleads. With pain etched all over her face, she looks down. "Tom, you made a promise to try to get along with him!" 

Tom gives her an incredulous look. Suddenly, Tom forgets about Sloane getting under his skin, now Nadia is. He thought she was better than this. After a few seconds of trying to process what Nadia just said, he says "You know, I don't get you. You want this...this pile of dogshit to love you like a normal father would. But he's not that man. He never WILL be that man! I thought you had more sense than to go chasing a damn unicorn! But apparently, I was wrong. Shame on me, I guess."

Tom storms off with the security guards in tow, leaving Nadia standing there, speechless. This time one night ago, they were having a sensational first date. Now, Nadia's not sure where they go now. She just wants the two to at least have a working relationship, but apparently Tom isn't interested. After a while, she sits down and has a look of despair on her face, hurt over Tom's outburst and defiance.

* * *

_Episode note: At this point, Sydney and Nadia are sent out to Tambor's yacht in the Black Sea. The mission is a success, despite Nadia being torn up about what Tom told her earlier. After they return, Sydney is asked if she wants a transfer by Sloane, to which she replies "I'll see you tomorrow." We pick up after this exchange._

* * *

_**Sydney's Apartment** _

It's nighttime as Sydney and Nadia pull up to their apartment. The first thing they notice as they get out of their car is Tom sitting on the porch step, looking down at his feet. He has a bouquet of lilies on his lap.

Nadia stares at him and doesn't get out of her car. She's unsure what he's going to say now.

Sydney reaches over and puts a hand on her arm. "Nadia?"

"What?" Nadia says after snapping her head over.

"Listen, when I first learned the truth about Sloane, I found it very hard to control my emotions around him. I had to learn over time. I know he's your father, Nadia, but you have to understand that he can be a very hard man to work with."

Nadia shakes her head, full of dismay. "I thought Tom would listen to me. But what he said about me chasing a unicorn and expecting more out of me..."

"Look at him, Nadia."

Nadia looks back out the window at Tom, who's looking back at them with about the saddest puppy dog eyes a man is capable of having.

Sydney then opens her car door. "Tell me that isn't a man who regrets what he said." Sydney doesn't even give Nadia a chance to look back at her before getting out of the car, hoping this spurs her to action. Nadia eventually follows suit.

As Sydney and Nadia approach him, they see Tom lift his head up once again. He looks Nadia with a look of remorse on his face. All he can muster is a sheepish "Hey ladies".

Nadia doesn't say anything while Sydney simply says "Hey."

Still feeling down, Tom asks to no one in particular "How was work?"

Nadia still doesn't say anything, clearly unsure of what _to_ say right now.

Sydney finally says "Good. We got the Black Thorine."

Tom chuckles and looks back down at his feet. "And what did Sloane think about your performance this time around?"

Sydney smiles a bit. "Actually, he was happy. He was happy with that and the fact that I didn't transfer when I threatened to."

Tom looks up quickly after hearing that last part. "You threatened to walk out on him?"

Sydney nods. "He nearly pushed me to the limit today, just like he did with you. I just like working with you guys too much, I guess." Sydney smiles at Nadia, but finds it's not matched.

Tom smiles himself, feeling some much-needed levity come into this situation. "At least you have more self-control than I do." Tom then realizes what he just said and turns to Nadia, who is looking very unsure of herself right now. His smile is quickly erased by that original look of remorse he had just a bit earlier as he takes Nadia's look to be one of hurt instead of confusion. "Nadia, do you have a few minutes? We need to talk."

Nadia just nods her head, still not saying anything. Tom scoots over to let Sydney walk by. Before Sydney enters the apartment, she tells Tom to "take all the time you need."

Tom gives her a nod, then looks back up at Nadia, who looks like she's still unsure what to think. Tom then slaps the step next to him. In a really solemn tone, he says "Have a seat. Please. I beg you."

Nadia thinks about it for a second, then slowly takes her seat next to Tom.

Tom gathers his thoughts for a second. He then turns his body to face Nadia. "The first thing I want to say to you is that I am so sorry for exploding at you earlier today. You didn't deserve that, and as I walked away, I knew immediately that I what I did was so wrong in so many ways. I just..." Tom then closes his eyes and lets out a deep sigh as he lets his head hang in self-disgust. "Nadia, I'm not a perfect man. In the past, I've let my anger cloud my judgment and control the decisions I make in life, often at the peril of the people closest to me. When I get in the heat of the moment, I find it difficult to control my impulses. I let your father get under my skin and I ended up hurting not only myself, but I hurt the one person in this world that I would never, EVER, want to hurt."

Nadia doesn't say anything, but turns to look at Tom with a bit of a surprised and touched look on her face over that last part.

Tom turns to Nadia as a tear rolls down his cheek. "Nadia, I'm so sorry I hurt you. Please, please accept my forgiveness." His voice cracks a little about halfway through that, the remorse over his actions rising up to his throat.

Tom stays quiet, waiting for Nadia to respond. She now has a look of sadness on her face too as she processes what Tom just said and the hurt he said it with. After a few seconds, Nadia takes a deep breath. She then exhales and says "I'm not a naïve person, Tom. I remember you told me once that your grandparents raised you, and you had a brother and sister growing up. I never had that. I never had anything resembling a family growing up. And now, my father is back in my life, and so is my half-sister. For the first time in my life, I finally have a family. You said earlier that I'm chasing a unicorn. If you discovered you do have a family after all after being without them all your life, wouldn't that be worth chasing?"

Tom looks down a bit and thinks about that question for a while. He then nods his head and looks back up at Nadia, his eyes a little watery. "My mother died in a car accident not too long after I was born. Even though I was too little to ever know her, I loved her, and I loved hearing stories about her from my grandparents who ended up raising me. I'm estranged from my sister because I was an asshole when it came to our father. And my brother, who I was so damn close with growing up, died when his plane hit the Pentagon in 9/11. If I were told today that, with a little work, I could be with them again..." Tom lets out a couple sniffles, which troubles Nadia, who didn't know any of this nor the effect family had on him. Tom wipes his eyes quickly and says while staring deeply into Nadia's eyes "I would do anything to make that happen."

Nadia then reaches over and grabs Tom's hand. "I know you would. And I know you're not perfect. Neither am I. I was such an angry person growing up myself, and there are still times where I can't control it either. It just gets to be too much. But, you came to APO because you wanted to be there for me when it just gets to be too much. You cared about me, and I'm so grateful for that. And as long as you're here for me, I'll be there for you. I promise."

Tom looks hopeful. "Apology accepted?"

Nadia smiles and wipes some more tears out of Tom's eyes. "Apology accepted."

A smile forms on Tom's previously sullen face. "Thank you. Thank you so much." Tom then reaches over and gives Nadia a hug, which Nadia returns. They're both equally happy to be back in each others' good graces.

Nadia turns to Tom's ear. "I'll talk to my father. He also got under Sydney's skin and I find that troubling. But please, Tom, just please try to get along with him."

Tom nods. "I will try. I promise." As they're hugging, Tom tilts his head and gives Nadia a peck under her ear. "I will always be there for you. No matter what happens. I meant it when I say I'm here for you."

"Thank you. You don't know how much that means to me."

"Nadia?"

Nadia lets out a curious "Yeah?"

Tom squeezes her a bit tighter. "I love you. I love you so much."

Nadia now eeks out a delightfully surprised "Yeah?" The two release the hug and a suddenly giddy Nadia leans over and gives Tom a kiss on the lips. With her trademark wide smile, she says "I was hoping you'd say that. Because I love you too." After they kiss one more time and then stare into each others' eyes for a little while, Nadia asks "Do you want come inside?"

Tom smiles and stands up. As Nadia stands up as well, Tom says "Yeah, I wanna know how you two did today!" Tom then reaches over and hands Nadia the lilies. "Almost forgot to give you these!"

Nadia smells them and smiles. "They smell wonderful, thank you!" Nadia suddenly casts Tom a suspicious look. "How did you know I like lilies?"

Tom smiles, then thinks for a bit.  _"How did I know?"_ Tom thinks to himself. After a few seconds of mind-racking, Tom says "I'm not really sure, actually. Something inside me said you'd like them."

Nadia smiles as Tom opens Sydney's apartment door to let him in.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	5. Strength And Honor

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episode 8_

* * *

_**Sydney's Apartment** _

Sydney and Nadia are in the kitchen drinking coffee and chatting about work when they suddenly hear a knock on the door. They both look at the door, then each other. Nadia asks Sydney "Are you expecting anyone?"

Sydney shakes her head. "No, are you?"

Nadia shakes her head. As far as she knew, Tom was bound for the east coast, having business to take care of while he's suspended.

Sydney then sets down her coffee and walks to the door. She opens the door and finds a smiling Tom Falk standing on the porch. "Good morning!" he says.

Sydney breathes a sigh of relief and smiles. "Good morning! Come on in!"

Tom steps in and Nadia sees who it is finally. She smiles as she gets up and quickly walks over to him. Before Tom can voice a greeting, Nadia grabs the sides of Tom's head and gives him a rather strong kiss, surprising him quite a bit.

Tom's eyes bug out as they release the kiss. "Wow! Is that how they say hello in Argentina?"

Nadia laughs, then starts playing with the collar of Tom's shirt. "Sometimes...want some coffee?"

Tom shrugs a bit, then looks down at Nadia's hands. "I think my collar is going to be fine now."

 

"Hey, I don't want my boyfriend looking shabby on the plane!"

"Shabby? Excuse me Miss I-Just-Woke-Up!"

Nadia's smile quickly turns into a frown and she raises an eyebrow at Tom, letting her face do the talking. Nadia's not really mad at Tom...but she's always been a little compulsive about looking nice around a man she loves.

Tom smirks and rubs his thumb on Nadia's cheek. "You make shabby look sensational, babe. Anyway, yeah, I'll have some coffee. I came here for a quick pick-me up before I went to the airport, but after you about sucked my face off, I'm not so sure I need..."

Nadia gives Tom a playful slap on the shoulder as she gives him a cocky smirk.

As this happens, Sydney walks up to the breakfast bar in the kitchen, looking at Tom a little curious. "Why are you going to the airport?"

As he's walking with Nadia back to the breakfast bar, he says "There's something I've been meaning to do since I left Baltimore to come to APO. Now that I have about a week and a half left on my surprise unwanted vacation, I can take care of that."

The mention of his suspension that her father gave him makes Nadia sigh a bit, but she doesn't say anything.

Sydney, meanwhile, shakes her head. "You know, I haven't been the nicest person around Sloane either. But instead, he suspends you."

"You had issues with Sloane before like I did. Did he ever suspend you?"

Sydney shakes her head. "No. He had me involved in too much to do that, I think. But still, don't you find that peculiar that he draws a hard line with you?"

Tom shakes his head as he sits at the bar with Nadia. "No, I earned my suspension. Plus, you've had a working relationship with him for years while I just got here. As you alluded to, you've probably earned some leeway with him."

Sydney casually nods as he pours Tom a cup of coffee. "True. My dad wasn't happy at all that Sloane suspended you."

Tom raises his eyebrows a bit. "Oh really? I don't talk to Jack much, tell you the truth. What all did Sloane tell him?"

"I don't know. He just thought Sloane went overboard in suspending you, especially since we need the manpower."

Tom looks down at the counter with a sigh. "Syd, I did what I did, and I just have to accept the consequences. I could cry and moan and beg for my suspension to be lifted, but I'm not gonna bother. I won't give Sloane the satisfaction."

Nadia, who's been noticeably silent throughout this exchange, finally speaks up. "Sydney, can I have a word with Tom alone, if you don't mind?"

Sydney nods her head quickly. "No, go ahead. I have to start getting ready anyway." Sydney walks off into her bedroom.

Nadia starts to speak, but Tom cuts her off. "Nadia, I know what this is going to be about, and you're right. I have to bury the hatchet with your father. It's just...I can't get over what he did to you with the Rambaldi Fluid, on top of abandoning you all your life."

Nadia sighs, expecting him to say that. "I've forgiven him for that. I know how you never forgave your father for what he did to you. But, I still believe that my father can be a good man, and if he can be all because of me, I have to give him that chance."

Tom frowns, expecting something like that too. "Nadia, I just don't see it. But, I realize that doesn't matter. What matters is that we're together, and I want to preserve that, no matter what other factors or external forces are in our lives. After my suspension is over, I'll have a chat with your father. I just have to let things cool down for a bit. My trip to Baltimore will help out with that."

That works to force a smile on Nadia's face. "Thank you for at least trying. And you're right. We are together, and that's means at least as much to me as it does to you. Let's not let anything get in the way of that."

Tom smiles back. "Of course not. You're just too awesome." Tom then leans over and gives Nadia a strong kiss to make up for the one earlier.

Nadia's eyes bug out now as they release the kiss. "WHOA! That was..."

Tom cuts her off, smirking his trademark smirk. "Strong? We're even now!"

Nadia just shakes her head and laughs as she stands up. She rather enjoyed that, actually. "I have to get ready for work myself. Be safe on your trip."

Tom reaches up and lightly touches her face, as if he wants to get his fill in before he leaves for a couple days. "You be safe as well, beautiful."

Nadia grins, flattered by that. Now it's her turn to give Tom a complimentary nickname. "Ok...handsome!"

The two then share a normal kiss this time. Tom would leave right after while Nadia would get ready for what would be a very long day at work.

* * *

_**Baltimore National Cemetery** _

Tom pulls up in his rental car and parks his car on the side of the cemetery road behind another car. It's been snowing in Baltimore, as it's still the dead of winter and there's a few inches of snow on the ground. Tom, in a black sweater and jeans, looks out on the row of graves to the outside of his passenger window. He fears for what he has to do.

Just as the fear starts to set in, he gets a call on his cell phone. He reaches over to his hands-free device and picks up the phone out of the cradle. He sees Sydney's name on the caller ID. He answers the phone, but can't help but be a little worried. "Sydney, what's up?"

On the other end, we see Sydney sitting at a desk at APO. "Tom, I just wanted to let you know that Anna Espinosa kidnapped Nadia earlier today."

Tom just about jumps out of his seat and through the car roof. "WHAT? Where is she?"

Sydney quickly replies "It's ok, we got her back. She's ok, she wasn't hurt." That's not the truth at all. Anna branded Nadia, but Nadia kept that from just about everyone. 

Tom breathes a sigh of relief, but goes back to being worried quickly. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

Sydney looks down. "There was nothing you could do. Anna only wanted to deal with me in order to secure her release. I had to do a task for her."

"Well, good thing is she's safe. Where's Anna?"

"I had to let her go. It was part of the deal for getting Nadia back."

Tom nods his head, then sighs again. "Dammit. Well, good thing you're ok too. Is Nadia around?"

Sydney shakes her head. "No, she's still with the doctors getting checked out."

"I thought you said she wasn't hurt!"

"It's just a precaution, Tom!" As she says that, Jack walks up to her desk, needing something. Sydney tells Tom "Anyway, I gotta run. I just thought you should know."

A still-tense Tom leans into his hand, which is propped up on the windowsill. "Thanks a lot. Tell Nadia to give me a call later."

Sydney smiles. "Of course. Later." Sydney hangs up the phone.

Tom hangs up his phone and tosses it to the passengers seat. He leans back and looks up and exhales loudly. "I go away for a few hours and look what happens..."

He turns to the right back down the row of graves, and a crestfallen look on his face returns as he remembers why he's here in the first place.

He exits the car and walks back to the rear driver's door and opens it. He leans in and pulls out 6 bouquets of flowers. Tom then closes the door and starts walking down the row of graves.

He's walking slowly as he looks to the right to view the names on each grave. Grave after grave walks by until he finally reaches the grave with the name "Jerome Thompson", where he suddenly stops. A knot in his stomach forms almost immediately.

Tom looks further down the row of graves and sees more names he recognizes. Jacob Jackson. Charlie O'Doyle. Luke Winter. Eddie Alvarez. Chris Cooper. All of the graves have different birthdates, but all of the graves have the same date of death: June 6, 2003.

Tom chokes back a sob as he grabs a bouquet and lays it down on Jerome's grave. He does the same for Jacob, then Charlie, then Luke, then Eddie, and then Chris. Each time he does it, he finds it harder to keep his emotions in check, but he does somehow.

After he sets Chris's bouquet down, he walks over to a bench and sits on it, facing towards the 6 graves. With a sheepish smile, he says "How's it going, brothers? It's been a little while since I stopped by and said hi."

Tom's voice starts to crack a bit as he reaches the end of that last sentence. Tears start to form in his eyes, but Tom quickly wipes them away before they can tumble down his face. "I swore I wasn't gonna cry!"

But, he can't help it. After all, he's reminded of why these men are in their graves today...

* * *

Flashback: On the third floor, we see Tom perched behind a door. He gets on his coms. "David, is there still a heat signature on the other side of this door?"

David (his op-tech off-site) says "Yes, he's stationary in the middle of the room."

Tom nods as he flings the door open to find a VERY large room with nothing except stone pillars about three stories tall and a man sitting in a chair with his hands behind the chair and his mouth covered with a white cloth.

Tom gets back on his coms. "Uh, David? This place was supposed to have five floors, right?"

David grabs a blueprint. "Yeah, why?"

Tom says "Something about this stinks. The room I just walked into has to be at least three stories tall...and I don't think there's any floors above this."

David scrambles for a bit, looking at his computer systems. "Uh, I don't know what to say...is there anyone else in there?"

Tom looks at the doctor. "No, just Doctor Kozlov. He's sitting right out here in the middle...I don't like this." Tom starts to walk away, then shakes his head. "Wait, I'm overthinking this."

Tom looks out across the room for traps. He doesn't see any. Tom smiles. "Well, I guess some missions were just meant to be easy, I guess." Tom sets his gun down and starts running across the room.

Tom notices the doctor looking panicked as Tom gets closer. Tom grins and says "You're coming with...WHOA!" Tom is cut off when he trips over a clear line of wire that he did not see earlier. As he hits the ground, he hears a loud **"BEEP!"**  and thenfeels the ground underneath him rumble violently. And then...

**BOOM!**

Tom hears the explosion off to his right. As he looks over that way, he hears another  **BOOM!** Another explosion goes off ahead of him, taking the cloned doctor with him. Tom hears the screams of his teammates in his earpiece...followed by static. Still on the ground, Tom starts to crawl forward a bit, but looks up and starts to see the roof start to fall. Tom, seeing there's little he can do now, puts his left hand behind his head. Tom closes his eyes...then opens them really quickly and screams in piercing pain as...

* * *

He can't go any further. Every time he thinks about that day, his right hand starts to hurt. He starts rubbing his right hand with his left, at the point where the scar runs down the side. And the tears...there's more of them and he's just letting them fall now. No sobbing, just tears.

All of the sudden, Tom is distracted by the sound of crunching snow behind him. Tom turns quickly and sees a man wearing a Navy peacoat and black khakis. The man is about average height with brown hair and a nicely-trimmed brown beard. Tom recognizes him immediately. "Mike Walcott, holy shit!"

Mike smiles as Tom gets up and walks over to him. The two give each other a pound hug. As they're hugging, Mike says "I had no idea you were in town! When did you get in?"

Tom releases the hug. "This morning! Believe it or not, I got suspended already!"

Mike laughs. "Oh, I believe it!"

Now, it's Tom's turn to be inquisitive. "What are YOU doing here?"

Mike lowers his head. "I was just visiting another one of our former colleagues."

Tom gets a solemn look on his face. "Who?"

With a blank expression on his face and voice, Mike looks back up at Tom. "Vandenburg."

Tom's jaw drops. "Our director from Dark Cover is dead? How?"

"He killed himself. Took a gun and just blew his own head off."

Tom winces and blows out, sickened by that thought. "Jesus...why? He wasn't a depressive guy, in fact, it was almost creepy how positive he was all the time!"

Mike hangs his head. "Well, you remember how he left Dark Cover to take his dad's seat in the U.S. Senate for the rest of his term after he died, right?"

Tom just nods.

Mike continues. "And you know how he lost the re-election campaign, which helped close up Dark Cover for good, right?"

"Yeah?"

Mike looks down. "Well, he took it hard. Apparently, he felt that he dishonored his father by not keeping that seat in the bloodlines. He just about completely fell off the face of the earth, kept himself indoors and didn't talk to anyone but James Lennox. Apparently, Lennox was the one that discovered him."

Tom forms a morose looks on his face as he looks down. He feels bad for not being at the funeral. "When was the funeral?"

"Last week."

Tom nods his head, but doesn't say anything, instead reflecting on his dealings with Vandenburg. He wasn't a bad boss, really. A little oblivious, as he entrusted Lennox to quite a bit of the day-to-day operations. But not a bad guy at all.

After some awkward silence, Tom asks "You wanna grab a few drinks at our old hangout? We haven't chatted since I joined APO."

Mike cracks a small smile. "Yeah, I haven't been to the Terrapin Tavern in a while. Let's do it."

Tom smiles and turns around and looks back at the graves of his fallen teammates. He keeps glaring at the graves. "I still miss them. But, I've been finding their loss is easier to deal with lately."

Mike looks at their graves for a bit, then back at Tom. "That's good to hear, I know it ate you up for the longest time. It did for me too, because I wasn't there. But, time heals all wounds."

Tom turns back to Mike with a grin. "That, and the woman of your dreams at your side."

Mike raises his eyebrows. "Oh really? I gotta hear more about this! Let's go."

"David in town? He should join us."

Mike thinks for a bit, then nods. "Yeah, he should be in town still. Let's pay him a visit! We might have to wake him, though."

Tom can't help but snicker. "All those late night video games?"

"You know it. Doesn't help that Lisa plays along with him!"

Tom laughs, then turns towards his fallen teammates' graves once more. Forcing a smile on his face, he says "I've never forgotten our motto, guys. Strength and honor...always." Tom swallows the knot in his stomach that shot up to his throat at the end there.

Mike gives Tom a pat on the back as they head towards their cars.

* * *

_**Suburban Baltimore** _

Tom and Mike pull up on the street and park their respective cars in front of your average, typical subdivision home. The sun is starting to set off the west as they get out of their cars and walk up the steps leading to the front door.

Tom rings the doorbell to the right of the door, then looks over at Mike. "He better be up. I've never met a man that likes to sleep as much as he does."

Mike laughs as the door opens and we see David, looking rather groggy. Then, as he rubs the sleep out of his eyes, he beams. "Tom! What are you doing here?"

Tom and David give each other a pound hug. As they're still hugging, Tom says "I got a bit of an unwanted break from my new division, so I thought I'd say hey."

David releases the hug. "What, did they suspend you?" He asks rather innocently.

Mike starts busting out laughing. Tom gives him a bit of a look, then starts laughing too.

Tom looks back over at David, still laughing a bit. "How'd you guess?"

"Because the CIA doesn't fire people, at least not this early in your tenure anyway!"

Tom looks a little surprised at that comment. "Damn, this time four years ago, you were just trying to avoid getting arrested and thrown in the clink for 20 years. Now, you're an expert on all things CIA!" Tom quickly looks over at a still-chuckling Mike. "What have you been teaching him, Mike?"

Mike quickly replies "Me? This guy's mind is like a damn supercomputer. He teaches himself!"

David nods, not disagreeing with that at all. "Yeah, that's true. Now, I'm certified to handle explosives in the field!"

Tom puts his hands on his hips and still has a look of disbelief on his face. "Man, you go from helpless computer nerd to the damn Unibomber!"

"You're actually not that far off." Mike says with a smirk. "He blew up a building couple weeks ago."

Tom raises his eyebrows in shock and turns back to David, who just sheepishly shrugs. "It wasn't a big deal, easy job. Anyway, you wanna come in?" David really doesn't see the big deal in his talents, but that's just David being David. Tom remembers that David never really freaked out about anything when he knew him, which made him a great asset in that regard.

Tom shakes his head. "No, you're coming with us to the Terrapin Tavern for drinks!"

David looks over at Mike, who just slowly gives him a cocky head nod. David then just nods, knowing he's not getting out of this one. "Ok, let me change my clothes." David then turns and goes back up the steps inside his house.

Tom then looks back over at Mike, still in a bit of disbelief over David's new skillset. "I think I created a monster."

* * *

_**Terrapin Tavern** _

We catch up with Tom, Mike, and David sitting at a corner booth in a rather average-looking tavern. The tavern seems to be relatively busy tonight.

Tom lifts up his bottle of beer for a toast. Mike and David respond by lifting theirs up as well. Tom, with a smile, says "To good friends and new ventures. Strength and honor."

Mike and David each say "strength and honor" themselves as the three touch glasses.

Tom laughs a bit as he sets his beer down. "Man, you know how many nights we sat here sharing drinks over the years? I didn't expect to be back so quickly!"

Mike laughs. "Sounds to me like your Anti-Cartel temper might have returned!"

Tom slams down his bottle and leans forward. "You have no idea, Mike, the absolute jackass I have for a boss. But, before we get to that, while we're on the subject of bosses, why didn't one of you call me about the Vandenburg funeral?"

David sheepishly says "I tried to, but it went to voicemail. You had a message on there saying you were out of the country."

Tom snaps his fingers suddenly. "Dammit, that's right. I was in Monte Carlo. In fact, that's the reason I was suspended."

Mike leans forward with a smirk. "Something tells me this story is going to be interesting."

"Only if you like stories where I completely got torqued off at my boss."

Mike nods quickly. "Yup, I love these stories!"

Tom laughs, knowing he has quite a few of those stories. "Well, I can't tell you the story without telling you about the dream woman at my side."

This time, David leans forward. "Are you dating a supermodel or something?"

Tom looks over and shakes his head. "No, even better." Tom then looks over at Mike. "You remember Nadia Santos from the Conquistadores mission?"

Mike's jaw drops. "No way..."

Tom nods. "Yeah way! We're together! She works with me at APO. In fact, she's the reason I joined, because I found out she was there. I couldn't believe it!"

David gives Tom a few pats on the shoulder. "After what you went through for the past year or so, I'm happy for you. I know you talked her up quite a bit in APO."

"Was it that obvious, David?"

David nods. "Yeah, pretty much."

Tom frowns and hangs his head. "Geez, I thought I was better than wearing my crush on my sleeve."

 

Something doesn't add up for Mike. "I thought she was still Argentine Intelligence? How did she end up there?"

"Her dad is my boss. He recruited her. I hate that son of a bitch."

Mike goes back to sitting back in his seat, wanting to spin this back to a positive conversation. "Wow, after all these years, you finally hook up with Nadia! Man! I knew it was bound to happen someday."

Tom sighs and looks back up. "Yeah, but you know I was married..."

"If I knew that Kate was going to emasculate you like she did when you two broke up, I would have told you to dump her ass!"

"Well, what's done is done. Anyway, me and Nadia are crazy about each other. Unfortunately, her dad is the definition of a monster, and I'm not going to explain why I hate that man with a passion, but let's just say that he's gone beyond mistreating her all her life."

Mike gives an understanding nod, but doesn't say anything.

David, who's been listening intently, asks "So, how did you get suspended?"

Tom looks over at David. "Well, I was out in support, and Nadia and her half-sister Sydney pulled off a miracle in Monte Carlo. It was amazing to see them at work. But, Nadia's dad didn't like the means that they used to complete their mission, and berated them for it. I snapped."

A smiling Mike says "Tom Falk, always jumping on the grenade for his team members with management."

Tom nods as he takes a drink of his beer. When he's done, he continues. "This time it was justified. He had Nadia's head completely scrambled. Needless to say, he took umbrage when I went off on him over that and suspended me two weeks. I have about a week and a half left."

Mike takes a drink, then looks a little confused. "So, you decided to come out here?"

Tom nods and sighs. "Yeah, I wanted to see my old friends again...living and dead."

"Do they know about your..."

Tom cuts him off. "No, and it stays that way. I don't want my condition to define who I am. And if they know about that, then they'll know what happened to our friends."

Mike goes to say something, but David cuts him off. "Tom, I'm sure they'll understand. Mitch betrayed us and the whole thing was a setup! If they placed the blame on you, don't you think they would have kicked you out of the CIA...or worse?" Mike sits back and nods quickly, as if David said what he just wanted to.

Tom digests that comment a bit. He takes a drink, sets it down, looks over at David and grins. "You're right. But I know better than to leave things up to chance. I've already pissed away any possible leeway I have with my boss, so no sense going back to the beehive with that stick to beat against it with." Tom looks back over at Mike. "Anyway, enough of me. I want to know about this building that David blew up!"

Mike laughs as David gets a cocky grin, a rare thing from him. "I think the architect would tell the story better than I can."

David rolls his eyes at Mike, then turns back to Tom. "Well, some of the mission details the CIA wants to keep a secret, but let's just say that me and Mike were sent to Bulgaria to track down these...items that the CIA wanted removed."

Tom looks suspicious. "Items? Hopefully you don't mean people."

Mike shakes his head. "No, this wasn't another Actopan Incident. No one got fried."

Tom rolls his eyes. "Yeah, thanks for reminding me about that debacle..."

David, a little impatient, cuts them both off. "Can I continue?"

Tom looks over at David and nods his head. "Please!"

"Anyway, the CIA tasked us because they thought this would be a good test of my recently-acquired explosives skills. The place was empty, except for these items. The building had a couple of weak points, so I placed explosives on those points, and..."

Mike cuts him off with grin. "Tom, you should have seen the explosion!"

David looks at Mike a little irritated. "QUIT CUTTING ME OFF, DAMMIT!"

Mike, at first surprised at David's sudden and unexpected explosion, laughs and eventually, so does David.

David continues. "As Mike just...conveniently alluded to...yes, apparently I used a little more explosive than I needed."

Tom looks like a lightbulb went off in his head. "Wait, you caused the Gabovro explosion a couple weeks ago? That was all over the news!"

David looks at Mike suspiciously, then back at Tom. "Yeah, that was me."

Tom laughs and claps his hands. "They say you blew up a factory that made stuffed animals. I thought 'Why would someone want to blow up a bunch of teddy bears?' Good to see I was right to be a little suspicious!"

David grins. "Anyway, I'll never forget it. That was about as much fun I've had since you recruited me into Dark Cover, Tom."

Tom pats David on the shoulder. "Good to see that my faith in you continues to be rewarded. If there was one good thing about my life that I could tell people about, it's you."

"Don't be ridiculous..." David shyly turns away.

Tom gets a serious look on his face. "I'm dead serious, David. Not only did you get to raise your son instead of rotting in a jail cell, you're now married and now have another child, my god-daughter. Oh, and you've become an absolute freelancing machine! I couldn't be more proud of the man you've become."

Mike lifts up his bottle. "To David Marston, aka 'The Machine'!"

Tom lifts up his glass. "Here here!"

Mike and Tom keep their bottles aloft, awaiting for a shy David to respond in kind. After a few seconds, David finally rolls his eyes and touches his bottle to theirs.

Tom finishes off his beer and sets it down. He looks at Mike and David's bottles. "Another round?"

Both Mike and David nod their heads. Tom smiles and gets up and heads to the bar.

* * *

_**Outside the Terrapin Tavern** _

The three former members of Dark Cover's tactical team are seen walking to their cars in the parking lot of the Terrapin Tavern, joking about something. It's now much later in the night.

Mike asks Tom "So, where are you staying?"

Tom shrugs. "I dunno, I was probably going to stay at the Hilton downtown." David shakes his head. "Nah, you can crash at my place! I've got a spare bed in my computer room and Suzie would really like to see her godfather!"

Tom looks at David and nods his head. "Very well, your place it is..."

Tom is cut off by the sound of his cell phone going off. He pulls it out of his pocket and sees on the caller ID that it's Sydney.

Tom stops walking to answer the phone. Mike and David stop too. On the phone, Tom asks "Sydney, is everything ok?"

On the other end, an exasperated Sydney says "Tom! I'm on a plane heading back to LA from Johannesburg. Anna shot Nadia."

Back in Baltimore, Tom's jaw drops open and he gets a look of sheer terror in his face. "Sydney, is she alive?"

"Yes, but she's not doing well! We were trying to find..."

An exasperated Tom cuts her off. "You can tell me in Los Angeles, I'm on the next plane back!" Tom quickly hangs up the phone and looks over at Mike and David.

Mike asks "What's wrong?"

Tom, with his mouth quivering, says "I have to go back to Los Angeles. Nadia's been shot. And she's not doing good."

**END OF CHAPTER**

 


	6. Good and Evil

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episode 9_

* * *

_**Outside Nadia's hospital room** _

Sloane bursts through the hospital doors in the wing Nadia is laid out in. Even though he's usually good at hiding his emotions, he's got concern written all over his face. As he approaches Nadia's hospital room, he sees Sydney and Tom looking in, both with equally worried looks on their faces.

Tom looks on at Nadia laid out on the hospital bed as Sloane takes his spot next to Sydney. Tom doesn't even notice Sloane is there. No, his thoughts and emotions are completely wrapped up in the well-being of Nadia. Tom feels this sense of responsibility for her that probably comes across as a little obsessive-compulsive, but Tom doesn't care what anyone else thinks. Nadia's a shining light in a dark life for him, and he's wants to do everything in his power to keep that light shining. At this point, all he can do is look, though.

Sydney notices Sloane take his spot next to her. She notices his concern. "They got the bullet out in Estonia. She's stabilized, but the internal bleeding was severe."

Sydney continues to explain Nadia's condition to Sloane as Tom does not break his gaze. He's listening, but he's heard the story already. If he weren't suspended, maybe he...

Eventually, Sloane notices Tom standing there and takes the opportunity to break Tom's concentration. "What are you doing here?"

Tom turns to Sloane angrily, appalled that he even would ask that.

Sydney realizes Tom could dig his hole even further with Sloane, so she has to cut in for his sake. "He has every right to be here!" Sydney says with about as equal of an appalled tone as Tom was probably going to display. Then again, Sydney's not in Sloane's doghouse, either.

Tom looks over at Sydney a bit surprised as she says that, then back over at Sloane, awaiting his reaction.

Sloane eventually gives an understanding head-nod to Tom. "I guess you do. Thanks for coming back from Baltimore. I understand you had personal business there."

Tom nods, but still has a furrowed look on his face. "I got my business taken care of before Sydney called me. Even if I hadn't, I still would have come back. I'm sorry, Sloane, but I love your daughter."

Sloane digests that last part for a bit and goes to say something, but is interrupted by a phone call. Sloane notices his number, then looks back up at Sydney and Tom. "I have to take this." Sloane walks off to return to take the call. As it'd turn out, Sloane had to go back to APO altogether because Julian Sark has just arrived. 

Tom watches him walk away, then turns back to Sydney. "Thanks for sticking up for me back there."

Sydney gives him a faint smile. "No problem. I know you'd do the same for me."

Tom nods in the affirmative, then turns and goes back to watching Nadia intently. As he's watching, he asks Sydney "Could I trouble you for another favor?"

"What's up?"

Tom, still looking at Nadia with total concern, says "From what you told me about what happened, I'm concerned that Anna, or someone else, could come here and try to finish the job. If you could hang out here for a bit, I want to go home and grab a couple things and come back. I'll stand watch over Nadia."

Sydney shakes her head. "That won't be necessary, this hospital is..."

"Sydney, I swore an oath to protect her a few years ago, and I will always stand by that oath. I can be here as long as it takes for her to get better. Not only do I have nothing better to do, but I have nothing else I want to do but be by her side."

Sydney tries reason with him, but knows it probably will be futile. "It could be two days before she's awake. We'll set up shifts..."

Tom shakes his head slowly and intently as he turns back to Sydney. "No. You have a job to do. Meanwhile, I'm still suspended. I'll stay here and protect her. If something changes in her condition or if something...else happens, you'll be the first to know."

Sydney sighs and nods, realizing Tom wasn't going to budge. When it comes to Nadia, there's no budging Tom. She makes a mental note of that. She likes that Tom is devoted to Nadia, but wonders  _where_ Tom is getting the devotion from. It's understandable to be in love like he is with her and all that, but to dedicate every waking second of his life to her like this? Something else must be driving him.

Tom breaks up her concentration by looking at her and saying a quick "thanks" and a small smile before walking off in a hurry, eager to get back to do his duty for the one he loves.

* * *

_**Outside Nadia's hospital room, 24 hours later** _

One day later, nothing has changed with Nadia. She's still in her coma.

But outside of her room, we see Tom seated in a chair just outside the door, and he looks a little different. He looks dead tired.

Tom sets down a book, Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises", on the ground, next to a medium-sized cooler. Next to the cooler, he grabs a large coffee travel mug off a small table, gets up, and walks into Nadia's hospital room.

In the room he walks over to a table in the corner, where he has set up a coffee maker. Tom grabs a pot full of coffee and starts pouring. He's got a fatigued look on his face as he pours coffee into his mug. He finishes and turns around and looks at Nadia.

And for the first time since he arrived almost 24 hours ago, he smiles.

It works to make him look at least a little more awake. "Looks like you're getting your color back! That's good, because pale is not a good look for you, babe." Tom glances over at her heart monitor and looks satisfied. "Looks like you're gonna be ok, after all."

Tom walks back out the room and sits down in his chair. Tom takes a sip of his coffee, realizes it's still too hot, then sets it down on the small table to the right of his chair. After he sets down his coffee, he reaches over and opens the cooler up. He reaches in and pulls out a red delicious apple. As he pulls out the apple, he scratches his face a bit, as he's got a full-blown 5 o'clock shadow now.

After he scratches his face and sits up, he reaches into his left pants pocket and pulls out an old, haggard-looking pocket knife with a strange symbol on the handle near the blade. Tom opens up the knife and lightly runs his thumb along the edge, checking to see if it needs to be sharpened.

Satisfied, he cuts off a thin slice of apple and lifts it to his mouth on the knife. As he's chewing on his apple, he notices Sydney getting off the elevator off to the right. Smiling and still chewing, he says "Good evening!"

Sydney walks over to Tom and smiles, happy that he's not looking as tense as he was the last time she checked in with him. "Hey...how's she doing?"

Tom smiles back after swallowing his slice of apple. "I was going to give you a call here in a bit, I just checked on her not even a minute ago. I think she's going to be ok. She's got her color back, and her vitals have really improved."

Sydney lets out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, I was really worried about her."

Tom shakes his head casually as he cuts off another piece of apple. "I wasn't."

"Tom, I never saw you look so concerned as you did last night." 

"That was before I remembered who Nadia is. She's got a toughness about her that I only wish I had. I don't know if she got it from the streets of Argentina or she got it in her bloodlines or what. But I knew she'd pull through. If I'm worried anymore, it's that she's still in danger from Anna and the rest of those Cadmus bastards. I can't let them get to her. Not while I still draw breath."

Sydney nods, but doesn't say anything as she looks in at Nadia.

Tom eats a piece of apple, then looks back over at Sydney, not liking that she's looming over him like she is. "You can have a seat if you like. It'll be nice to have company."

Sydney gives Tom a small smile, then casually walks over to a chair to the left of Tom, opposite the little table and right next to the door. As she sits down, she looks at Tom and notices he's got bags under his eyes. He looks exhausted, but he's trying to hide it. "You look tired."

Tom dismissively shakes his head. "Nah, I have plenty of coffee and apples to keep me going. Plus, I don't know what I'd do if something happened to Nadia and I could have prevented it."

"You're not the only one that cares about her." Sydney says, again trying to reason with Tom and thinking she might be able to succeed with him fatigued.

Nope, not working here either. "I realize that. But I am the only one that is currently suspended right now." Before he can take a darker turn with this conversation, Tom reaches down in his cooler and grabs and apple. He then leans back up and extends the apple to Sydney. "Hungry?"

Sydney smiles and shakes her head. "No thanks, I ate before I got here."

Tom nods and puts the apple back in the cooler, then goes back to knifing slices of apple.

Sydney takes notice of something on Tom's knife. "That symbol that's just below the blade on the handle...what is that?"

Tom eats a piece of apple and looks at the symbol, then smirks. He takes a few more chews, then swallows. "That is the Mayan symbol for a bat. The man I killed to get this knife was big into Mayan history and culture."

Sydney raises an eyebrow a bit. "Who did you kill?"

Tom can't help but chuckle as he looks back at Sydney. "Ah, this was my very first kill in the Anti-Cartel! It was 1992, and we were trying to track down a mid-level drug trafficker named Nicandro Sagredo the Third. Well, we finally track him down in the forest outside of Las Choapas, along that little strip of land that separates the Yucatan Peninsula with the rest of Mexico. I'll never forget what happened when we finally cornered him." Tom chuckles again and pauses to take another bite of apple.

"What happened when you tracked him down?"

Tom finishes chewing and smiles. "Well, we had him backed up to this large stone boulder, that overlooked a creek in the middle of the forest. I remember it wasn't particularly hot that day, but still a little humid since we were deep in the forest and it was hard to catch a breeze. Anyway, we wanted to take him in alive and see if he'd give up his whole operation. But, he had other ideas. He decided he'd rather die than get captured and decided he would take a few of us with him to Hell. I knew it the moment he pulled out his pistol that he had tucked into the back of his jeans. I already had my gun pointed at him and I quickly aimed and fired. I nailed him directly in the right eyeball from about 30 feet before he could even lift the gun from his waist."

Sydney opens her eyes wide. "Wow, that was a good shot!" Sydney's also noting Tom doesn't seem to actually be taking pleasure that he killed someone, but knows this is not the time or place to call him out on that.

"I know. My buddy Mike, who had just joined our team not long before that mission, called it a one in a million shot. But long story short, I went and frisked the guy for anything he could provide us and I found this knife. I decided to keep it as a memento of my first kill in the field."

Sydney looks back at the knife. "So, what does the bat stand for something? I'll admit that I'm not well-versed in Mayan culture, but I know that symbol probably has meaning of some sort."

Tom smiles at Sydney, enjoying being able to level with her over a topic he knows well. "No, you're absolutely right. See, the Mayans didn't believe in 'good' and 'evil' like we do. They viewed good and evil as a totality, rather than as separate entities. See, the bat was the Mayan symbol for that balance between good and evil. To the Mayans, the bat came to symbolize protection against dark forces. Even though it could be construed as an evil being itself, it was still liked and respected by the people it protected. It taught me the most evil people can still have the noblest of intentions, and that you could take advantage of that in the field." Tom then looks down and his confident look goes away. "The Mayan bat came to embody how I went about business in the Anti-Cartel. Sydney, I did some wretched things there, things that I deeply regret now. But I did all of that because I thought I was doing it for a good cause. So, I justified my actions. But what they didn't teach me was how to live with the regret over the lives I destroyed, and how I went about destroying them."

Once the concern over this story goes away, Sydney realizes she can relate a little. She's done things that she's not proud of, either. Sydney cracks a small, reassuring smile and pats Tom on the back. "I can tell, just in your devotion to Nadia, that you're not an evil person. That man you just told me about...I don't think that man exists anymore."

Tom raises an eyebrow, genuinely surprised by that last part. "Not even when I went all Krakatoa on Sloane a couple days ago?"

Sydney laughs. "Come on! You just did something I've wanted to do for the past decade!"

Tom laughs, and so does Sydney. Even though he's feeling a little loopy now from a severe lack of sleep, Tom is enjoying this conversation...because it's simply a conversation.

After she finishes laughing, Sydney points out "That looks like a really old knife."

Tom nods as he finishes off his apple, still smiling a bit. "I had a Mexican antique guy take a look at it. He believes that this knife was a family heirloom that was passed down generation to generation, beginning with the first Nicandro Sagredo, and going down to his son Nicandro Junior, and then to Nicandro the Third. In fact..." Tom flips over the knife and points to the bottom of the blade. "...somewhere along the way, one of those Nicandro Sagredos put his initials 'N.S.' on the back of the blade. Of course, nowadays, those initials have a whole new meaning for me." Tom smirks as he turns back and looks at Nadia through the window behind him, still lying there in the hospital bed.

As he's looking at Nadia, Sloane exits the elevator to the right. Tom turns back around and notices Sloane right away. Tom and Sloane eye each other down, as usual, only this time it's more of a curious exchange rather than a hostile one.

As Sloane approaches Tom and Sydney, he asks to either one of them "How is Nadia doing?"

Tom is the first to respond. He makes it a point to put away his knife first, though. "A lot better. She's got her color back and her vitals are improved. Your daughter is going to make it."

Sloane nods and, for the first time in a long time, tosses a smile in Tom's direction. "That's good to hear. I appreciate you looking out for her."

Tom sighs as he tosses his apple core into a wastebasket off to his right. "Well, we both know why I have ample time to look after her..." Tom pauses for a bit, then turns to Sloane with a sincere look on his face. "...and I share a good chunk of that blame."

Sydney looks a little surprised that Tom appears to be conceding this bitter feud he has with Sloane here.

Sloane just stands there, not giving any hints on how he feels about what Tom just said. Tom interprets the silence as Sloane trying to figure out of Tom is for real or not.

After a little while, Tom breaks the silence. "Maybe while you're here, Sloane, we can clear the air between us. Our feud is not healthy for APO and it sure as hell isn't healthy for Nadia."

"I agree, on both counts." Sloane says with full approval in his voice.

Just as he says that, the alarm goes off. Over the intercom, everyone is informed that there's been a fire in the sub-basement. The alarm causes all medical staff to exit the floor.

Immediately, Tom smells a rat. He springs up out of his seat and pulls out his Desert Eagle .50.

Sydney does the same and pulls out her gun as well. She tells Sloane "Stay here with Nadia, we'll look for her."

Sloane looks at Tom, knowing he's still suspended, but decides that his daughter's safety is more important, and just gives Tom a head-nod.

Sydney runs off down a hallway on the far-side of the nurse's station and enters the stairwell.

Meanwhile, Tom goes down the near-side hallway with the elevator and enters a different stairwell. He starts marching downstairs, towards the sub-basement. He gets about two floors down when he hears the gunshots from Anna shooting at Nadia...well, what she thinks is Nadia anyway.

He immediately fears the worst. His look of sudden anguish punctuates this rather obviously.

Tom doesn't know that she just shot a bunch of bloodbags. Immediately, he charges back up the stairs. By the time he's gotten up the stairs, Anna has already grabbed a firehose and shot out the hallway window. Tom points his gun at her, but is unable to get off a shot before she jumps out the window.

Seeing how much hose she's using to escape, Tom makes a break for the stairwell he just came in. He charges down the stairs with everything he has. Finally, once he gets low enough, he decides to hop his way down a couple flights to the bottom.

It's a risk that pays off, as Tom ends up unscathed. He realizes how stupid that probably was once he landed, but he's got no time to dwell on his health issues right now.

Tom charges out of the exit and towards the parking lot. Not too far ahead of him, he sees Anna running towards the back of the lot.

Tom finds a gear he never knew he had. With every ounce of energy he can spare, he sprints like he probably has never sprinted before in any point of his life. He gets close enough to where he can risk firing a shot at Anna.

But the problem with having a big honking gun like a Desert Eagle .50 is the fact that he has to skid to a stop, aim, and fire while keeping a tight grip on the gun. The Desert Eagle's recoil is legendary in its unforgiveness. And despite his best efforts, Tom's shot goes right by Anna's right ear.

Tom starts to run, but sees Anna lifting up her gun and pointing it behind her blindly. She fires a couple shots, which Tom has to respect even though the odds of them hitting him are remote. They whiz by him after he dives into a bush to his right, never threatening him and probably weren't going to be a threat had he not dove.

Finally, Anna reaches a black car towards the end of the lot. Tom gets up off the bush and starts running towards her again, but realizes it's futile. He reaches the edge of the parking lot as Anna starts reversing out of her parking spot.

Tom fires a few shots at the car, hitting the car twice as it comes to a stop, but is unable to stop Anna as she peels away, tires loudly screeching as she drives off, as if panicked as much as Anna was when he was chasing her.

Tom memorizes the license plate number. "9-A-D-A-2-1-4...remember that, Tom." But with his words, he suddenly realizes how out of breath he is. He's almost completely out of breath. Tom looks around and thinks about hotwiring a car and giving chase, but realizes that would be futile because it'd take too much time to hotwire. He also thinks about getting in his own car, but it's parked on the other side of the hospital. As a cramp starts to form in his side, he gives up on that idea.

Out of options, he pulls out his cell phone. He punches in a number and presses the phone to his ear.

On the other line, we see David, Tom's friend from Dark Cover, in a computer room pick up his cell phone. "Tom? Hey, how's..."

A frantic Tom cuts him off. "We don't have time for chit-chat! PLEASE, on everything that is holy and sacred in this world, tell me you're at a computer!"

"Yes...yes I am! What do you need?"

"I need you to look up a license plate!"

"I'm home and I can access the license plate database from here. What's the numbers?"

Tom, who's exasperated from giving chase as well as thinking that Nadia could be dead, says with a tightened voice "California plates 9-Alpha-Delta-Alpha-2-1-4. A woman named Anna Espinosa is driving it!"

David can audibly be heard on the phone typing in the information. "Hang on Tom, I'm keying those numbers in..."

Tom hunches over, realizing he needs to catch his breath from the sprint at some point. As he does that, he sees Sydney running towards him from the exit.

He goes to say something to her, but then David cuts him off. "I got it! The name on that plate belongs to an Amanda Jones...wow, this is a fake if I've ever seen one."

Tom, back to standing up straight, holds the phone away from his ear and lets out a loud "DAMMIT!"

"No, it's ok! I got the VIN number...let me run that and see if I can find anything..."

As he does that, Sydney finally catches up to Tom. "Did she get away?"

Tom looks like he's about to cry. "Nadia...I failed her..."

Before Sydney can respond, David chimes in again. "Tom! She's driving a 2004 Audi, and her car has OnStar! I can hack into the OnStar GPS and track where she's going!"

Tom, now with a hopeful look on his face, says "Do it! Let me know where she ends up, you have this number?"

"Yeah! I'll give you a call."

Tom hangs up the phone rapidly, then squeezes it in his fist, hopeful that vengeance for Nadia could still be had on this night.

Sydney asks "What was that about?"

"My op-tech from Dark Cover is tracking Anna's car through the OnStar system that's in it. We'll figure out where she's going."

Sydney nods, then puts her hand on Tom's shoulder gently. Tom looks down at the hand, then closes his eyes, once again fearing the worst. Instead, he gets verbal relief from Sydney. "Anna did not kill Nadia. She shot at some bloodbags that Sloane had set up as a dummy. Sloane had Nadia moved to the sickbay, she's fine."

Tom opens his eyes quickly and starts pacing. With a look of relief on his face, he exhales suddenly and laughs. "Oh thank goodness! I never thought I'd say this, but thank God for Sloane!"

Sydney laughs. "Hey, let's not get carried away!"

Tom sheepishly winces, realizing who he's talking to and what all Sloane has done to her. "I know, I know. But this debunks a suspicion I had of him. Come on, let's go inside."

* * *

_**Outside of the sickbay** _

Back in the hospital, Sloane is at Nadia's side when he sees Tom and Sydney walk back in together. He has a look of disappointment on his face. "I take it Anna escaped."

Tom nods, still feeling hopeful. "Yeah, she was too fast for me."

"I saw you running." Sloane deadpans. "Your speed and agility was surprising to witness."

Tom stands up tall. "Don't underestimate what you're capable of when you think your loved one is dead. It's all good, though. We're working on getting Anna's location."

Sloane looks a bit surprised. "How could you be doing that if she's long gone?"

"My former op-tech at Dark Cover is now a freelance agent. He hacked her OnStar GPS system and is tracking her as we speak." Just as Tom says that, his phone rings. Tom looks at the phone and sees David's name on the caller ID. "This is him, Sloane. I have to take this." Tom walks out of the sickbay and answers the phone. "David, please tell me you have something!"

On the other line, David says "Well, her car is stopped at the main terminal at LAX."

Tom says "So, she's hoping aboard a one way ticket to Safetyville...dammit."

David quickly responds "It's ok! I can search the flight manifests for flights going out until 6 AM and see if she's on a commercial plane. I can also get access to the security cameras at the terminal for you, if you'd like."

Tom turns back to Sloane and Sydney, then looks away again, with an idea going off in his head. "Get me those manifests and video, email them to my work account, you have that address. And David? I'm going to need you to find manifests for private flights, too. I know you can do that, and I know it's a bit risky, but I'll happily return the favor somehow..."

David cuts Tom off. "Tom, you've done enough for me to earn you a lifetime of favors. Consider it done."

Tom grins. "Thank you...thank you so much."

"Is Nadia alright? I assume this is what this is all about."

"She's fine. Someone tried to kill her while she was laid out in the hospital..." Tom turns back to Sloane. "...but, one of our agents was able to get her out of harms way. He saved her life. She's going to be fine." Sloane heard every word of what Tom said and the sincerity in which he said it with. Perhaps the hatchet is ready to be buried after all.

"Good. I'll get you those manifests ASAP."

"Thanks, David. You rock!" Tom hangs up the phone and walks back to the sickbay quickly. Looking at Sloane, he says "I have some good news and bad news." 

Sloane immediately fires "What's the bad news?"

Tom says "Anna went to Los Angeles International Airport. She's getting out of town, and probably in a hurry."

Sydney concernedly asks "So, what's the good news?"

Tom looks over at her with a smirk. "David is going to get me the public and private manifests of every single flight out of LAX from now until 6 AM. He says he can also get us surveillance video from LAX. He's going to be sending them to my work email."

Sydney smiles, relieved at Tom's friend coming through. "Good, we'll find her, even if she's using an alias."

Sloane, meanwhile, seems less jovial as he glares at Sydney. "Could you excuse us, Sydney? I need a word with my daughter's boyfriend for a minute."

Sydney nods and walks out of the sickbay, a little curious about the conversation that is about to take place.

Now, it's just Tom and Sloane (and a comatose Nadia)...alone for the first time since Tom blew up in Sloane's office a few days ago.

Tom walks over and stands by Nadia's bedside, leaving Sloane standing by the doorway. Tom looks at Nadia for a bit, looking very relieved that she's going to be ok. He sets his hand on top of Nadia's head and, with his thumb, strokes back on her forehead. He then back over at Sloane, feeling grateful that he saved Nadia's life. "I want to thank you for putting her out of harms way."

"No thanks necessary. I did what I had to do to protect my daughter."

Tom nods, understanding finally where Sloane is coming from. He then looks down at the ground. "Doing what you did tonight, going out of your way to protect Nadia...it made me realize something." Sloane patiently awaits the answer as Tom looks back up with a serious, yet sincere look on his face. "I was wrong about you. You do care about Nadia."

Sloane, with a serious look on his face, says "I understand your reasons for doubting my love for my daughter. For a man coming up from your upbringing, a man whose father abandoned him, your reasons for hating me were justified. But like I've told Nadia now countless times, and now to you, I want to be a father to her. A father that I never was. Whether you want to believe it or not, we both have the same vested interest in Nadia's well-being."

"I believe it now. But, we also have a vested interest in Nadia's psyche as well. Our rift is tearing her apart. We're the two men in her life, and she wants nothing more than to see us get along, at least on a basic, working level. I can start by not being a total dick to you. I also accept my part of the blame for my suspension." Tom looks up at Sloane during that last sentence, hammering home his sincerity.

Sloane takes a couple second to process Tom's intentions, then nods in agreement, even looking a bit remorseful over something. "You know, my decision to suspend you was not well-received among the staff. They seem to think that APO is much better off with you working in the office than not. I've never been a democratic leader, but in this instance, I see that sometimes, I get things wrong. Plus, your work in hunting down Anna's whereabouts tonight, along with staying all this time to protect Nadia, has shown me that you are indeed an asset."

Tom smiles a little bit. "I appreciate the kind words. I think it's time we bury the hatchet, at least on a working level. We're two imperfect people trying to protect the light in our lives. Therefore, I'm willing to work with you..." In a stunning move, Tom extends his hand for a handshake. "...for Nadia."

Sloane looks a bit surprised at Tom's gesture at first. But eventually, he nods and shakes Tom's hand, and even matches Tom's firmness.

Meanwhile, Sydney and a recently-arrived Jack Bristow watch the exchange from outside the sickbay, not really believing what they're seeing either.

Back in the sickbay, the two release the handshake. Tom says "I'll run to APO and work with Sydney on those manifests and video, then I'll come back here and continue to keep watch on Nadia."

Sloane shakes his head. "No. You've been up since you left for Baltimore nearly two days ago. Get Sydney the manifests and access to the video, then go home and get some rest. I'll see you at work Monday."

Tom's eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "You're lifting my suspension?"

"I'm cutting it to a week." Sloane then cracks a wide smile. "For Nadia, right?"

Tom gives Sloane a sort of suspicious smile, then nods his head. He then turns over to Nadia. He leans over and strokes her hair back behind her left ear. "I'll stop by tomorrow. Your dad will take care of you in the meantime." Tom then leans over and gives her a kiss on the forehead as Sloane watches on.

* * *

_**Back outside the sickbay** _

Sloane and Tom walk out together to find a suspicious Sydney and Jack wondering what's going on.

Before either of them can ask, Tom tells Sydney "We need to get to work so I can print off those manifests and get you the video that David is emailing me. I'll stay up and work with you on matching Anna's alias if you need."

Sydney looks confused, then looks over at Sloane with that same confused look. "You lifted his suspension?"

Sloane fidgets a bit, then says "Both you and Jack were right. He's better when he's working with us, and we all are better off with his help."

Tom nods in agreement. "Plus, me and Sloane both have a vested interest in finding Anna. She tried to kill Nadia twice. There won't be a third time."

Sloane says to Tom, Jack and Sydney "Whatever you three need to do to find Anna, do it. Whatever it takes."

Tom nods and motions for Sydney to go with him back to APO, leaving Jack and Sloane to discuss Sloane's faith like they did in the actual episode.

* * *

_Story note: Despite Tom's best efforts once he got the email from David, Sydney convinces him to finally get some sleep and handles most of the legwork on the manifests and video. The next day, Jack decides to take the drastic action of reviving Nadia early from her coma in order to get information out of her. Nadia ends up fine and the information she gives Jack along with Tom's manifests, the LAX video, and an assist from Sark result in Sydney finally defeating Anna and getting her into custody._

* * *

_**Nadia's hospital room** _

An excited, yet still somewhat sleepy Tom Falk rushes down the hallway leading to Nadia's room. He only got a few hours of sleep, but he doesn't care. Nadia's back. In his right hand, he's got a bouquet of white lilies...just what Nadia likes.

Tom walks into Nadia's hospital room and stops dead in his tracks. He smiles widely as he sees Nadia grinning back at him. It's the most beautiful sight he's seen in a couple days. "Good morning, beautiful" he says with a warm smile.

Nadia, keeping her smile, says "Good morning, handsome!"

Tom walks over to Nadia's right side and gives her a quick kiss on the lips. He's stoked beyond belief that he can still do that to Nadia and feel life coming back from her. He then sits down next to her as he hands her the flowers. "Lilies, just how you like them."

Nadia grabs the flowers and lifts them to her nose to smell them. She giggles a bit. "Thank you! They smell so beautiful!"

"Your laugh is beautiful. And your smile. I missed them both while you were away."

Nadia sets the flowers on her lap, then grabs Tom's hand and looks into his eyes sincerely. "Thank you for being here for me." Then, Nadia gets worried. "Sydney tells me you were outside my door for 24 hours straight protecting me without a second of sleep...Tom, that's crazy!"

Tom's smile erases and he gets a serious look on his face. "I wanted to be here for you. I made you that promise in Argentina a few years ago, and I will never, EVER break that promise. I love you so much, Nadia. I would have been here, awake, waiting for you as long as you needed to get better."

Nadia gives Tom a satisfied smile. "I believe it. I love you too, Tom. You're so good to me."

"It's what you deserve." Tom says, looking deeply into Nadia's eyes with sincerity as he said it. He then leans in and gives Nadia another kiss, holding it for a few seconds. Tom's smile returns to his face as he breaks the kiss. Still leaning in, he says "I also have two more things I wanted to give you when you woke up."

Nadia's eyes open up wide out of surprise. "Oh really?"

Tom nods. "The first thing is information. Nadia, I made peace with your father."

Nadia breathes a sigh of relief. "I heard...but it feels so good to hear it coming from you. I also hear your suspension is being cut down to a week." Nadia then looks down at Tom's right hand that is lying on her belly and holds it with her left. "Tom, I know making peace must have been tough..."

"No it wasn't." He gives Nadia a moment to look back up at him. "For a moment there, when Anna came by last night to finish the job, I thought I had lost you. I pursued her with everything I had in me, determined to get vengeance. She got away, and when she drove off, my heart sank into my intestines. I thought I had failed you. But then Sydney told me what your father did to protect you. Right then and there, I realized your father does care about you, and I can no longer hold that against him. Also, while I waited for you to get better, I came to the realization that either my love for you or my hate for him had to go. You're the only thing that matters in my life, and my love for you is not negotiable. Once I realized just how much I love you, it became a no-brainer for me to make peace with Sloane."

Nadia cracks a wide smile, satisfied that Tom has legitimately made peace with her father. "Thank you. I'm so happy you're in my life."

Tom kisses Nadia's hand, which is still holding on to his. "And I'm so happy you're in mine. Sydney finally convinced me to get some sleep last night, otherwise I would have been here by your side when you woke up."

Nadia giggles a bit. "You've done plenty already...oh, you said there was something else you had for me!"

Tom smiles widely as he reaches into his right pocket. "Well, I'm told that you're going to be released today, which is great because..." Tom then pulls out two tickets out of his pocket. "...I was going to have to figure out what to do with these two tickets to the USA vs Argentina soccer friendly tomorrow night at the Rose Bowl!"

Nadia beams with excitement and almost leaps out of the bed. "Tom, this game has been sold out for a while! How did you get these?"

"Someone owed me a favor. I mean...I couldn't miss the chance to see the the good ol' U-S-of-A whoop up on the Argentines!"

Nadia, now sitting upright from seeing the tickets, now starts laughing sarcastically. "Yeah, the Americans beating Argentina...keep wishing!"

Tom sets the tickets down and looks deeply into Nadia's eyes, still smiling. "You, of all people, should know that miracles can happen!" Tom's smile then erases as he looks at her seriously and lightly caresses her left cheek with his right hand, a favorite move of his when he wants to get serious. "From you saving my life in Argentina...to us finding together again in APO...to surviving a nearly-mortal gunshot wound...Nadia, you continue to amaze me."

Nadia leans over and gives Tom a hug. In her life, compliments have been hard to come by. And now, she just got a really good one...just for simply being her. The fact that she is so adored by someone that she has opened her heart to, which she doesn't open too often for people, makes her squeeze Tom all that much more tighter. 

As he's hugging Nadia, Tom catches something in the corner of his eye to his right. He quickly turns and sees Sydney standing in the doorway. With a surprised gasp, he breaks the hug, causing Nadia to look him funny. But as she turns and sees what he's looking at, Tom asks Sydney in a panic "How long have you been standing there?"

Sydney smiles widely and giggles a bit. "Since you told Nadia that you were taking her to the soccer game tonight!"

Tom blushes out of embarrassment and looks at the floor. "And there goes my dignity..."

Nadia and Sydney share a laugh over that. Sydney then says "No! It's ok! Don't mind me! I'm starting to think that breaking up your tender moments with one another is a hidden talent of mine!"

Tom looks back at Sydney with a still embarrassed look. "It's one of many talents I'm discovering you have in a very short time." Tom then turns back to Nadia. "I'll leave you ladies alone so you can ta..."

He's interrupted by Nadia leaning over, grabbing the back of his head, and yanking it toward him so she can give him a deep kiss. 

**END OF CHAPTER**


	7. Shopping Trip

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episodes 10 and 11_

_Note: There will be some Spanish spoken in this chapter. (English translations will be in parenthesis, like this.)_

* * *

_**Somewhere in Los Angeles** _

We catch up with a black, modern Cadillac driving down a freeway somewhere in Los Angeles. It's nighttime, meaning that car isn't parked in an infinite traffic jam.

Inside the car, Tom is driving while Nadia sits in the front passenger's seat, each of them wearing shirts for the U.S and Argentina soccer teams respectively. Tom's is long-sleeve while Nadia's is short. In fact, Nadia's noticed that Tom has worn nothing _but_ long sleeves around her. She finds that curious, but not curious enough to mention. What's important is both of them had a good time.

Tom turns down the radio, which is from a local sports station talking about the game. He goes the civil route to start off, knowing this has a chance to go off the rails. "Well, I guess neither one of us have bragging rights tonight."

Nadia lets out a sarcastic giggle. "Yeah, you guys were lucky to tie us 1 to 1!"

Tom looks at Nadia with an astonished look. "What? It was 1-0 USA until Tevez buried that miracle shot from outside the box in the 90th minute!"

Nadia shakes her head. "That was no miracle, he's just that good! Besides, we LET you lead most of the game."

Tom sighs and nods his head. "Yeah, yeah, Argentina sat most of their regulars...I get it. Still, I guess this means neither one of us have to fulfill that bet now either."

"Good, I hate hockey!"

Tom lets his offense to that comment shine through in his glare at Nadia. "You've never even BEEN to a hockey game! It's a different game live than on TV! You would have seen that had the U.S won!"

Nadia fires back "And you would have seen that you could salsa dance had Argentina won!"

Tom exhales quickly and turns back to the road. "Thank goodness this game ended in a tie then!" Tom then looks over a Nadia smiling. "In all seriousness, I had a great time tonight. I'm glad you were able to be there."

Nadia smiles back. "I had a great time too."

Tom looks back at the road as the vehicle exits the freeway. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess."

"Want to grab a bite somewhere? We can stop by Kitchen 24, it's on the way."

Nadia thinks for a bit, remembering their marathon session there the last time they were there, which would have been the first date. As great as that sounds, and as much as she enjoys being with Tom, her practical side wins out. "I should be getting home. I go back to work tomorrow. And you should rest up too, you haven't had much sleep lately."

Tom dismissively says "I'll be fine, don't worry about me. Like I told you tonight, I think I learned how the dead feel yesterday after I got home from seeing you at the hospital. I haven't slept 12 straight hours since I was in high school."

Nadia takes the chance to pull a page out of Tom's playbook and caresses his cheek a little. "You were just getting your beauty sleep!"

Tom laughs, then turns back to Nadia with a sarcastic look. "Says the woman who just pulled off her best Snow White impression!"

"If I'm Snow White, does this mean Jack Bristow is my charming prince?" Nadia says with a smirk, pushing his buttons.

A scowl immediately forms on Tom's face. "Some prince, bringing you out of a coma that could have risked your life."

Nadia sighs and hangs her head. She got a little carried away and struck a nerve. "You guys were in a jam. And he took every precaution..."

"Whatever." Tom looks back over and gives Nadia a reassuring smile. "None of that matters. You, being here right now, is all that matters to me."

"I heard that you really gave Anna a chase. Maybe I should ask how you're feeling." Nadia says with a fair bit of concern.

Tom shrugs. "Fine."

Awkward pause.

Nadia notices Tom's not going to expand on that without a bit of prodding. "So, your health issue..."

"Not tonight." Tom says matter-of-factly. He keeps his eyes glued to the road, offering no more visual or verbal clues as to just what it is that's keeping him from being a full field agent. Nadia can't figure it out. He seems perfectly fine to her. 

Nadia realizes that riddle won't be solved tonight, and there's been a bit of heat added to an otherwise great night. So, starts thumbing through a game program she bought at the game, which causes her to remember something from her past. "You know, when I was growing up in Argentina, I didn't have a lot of possessions, but there was one thing that I treasured more than anything."

Tom stops at a light and looks back over at Nadia with an interested look, apparently ready to re-engage her. "What was that?"

Nadia looks over at Tom, a bit relieved he's not holding a grudge. "I had a program from a World Cup qualifying match from 1985. It was Argentina vs Venezuela at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. My orphan mother, Sophia, got us all tickets."

Tom looks back at the road, but is still interested. "Who won?"

Nadia laughs. "Argentina, of course! 3 to nothing. Maradona scored this unbelievable goal right before halftime, I'll never forget it!" Nadia's cheery look suddenly turns somber. "That was one of the best days of my life and one of just a few memories that I can look back and smile at...sadly, I lost that program when I ran away from the orphanage."

Tom gets a concerned look on his face as he pulls up to Sydney's apartment. After Nadia pried into him a little bit (which he's not bitter about), he decides to test her as well. "Why did you run from the orphanage?"

Nadia thinks for a bit, then shakes her head as her somber look remains on her face. "I don't want to talk about that."

Tom thinks about pressing the issue, but thinks better of it as he gets out of the car. I guess they're even now. 

Nadia also exits and holds Tom's hand as the two walk up the walkway to Sydney's apartment, then stop at the front porch.

Tom starts laughing almost immediately when he gets to the front door, something just overtaking him at the spur of the moment.

Nadia gets a confused look on her face. "What is it?"

Tom stops laughing, but still is smiling. "Remember the last time we stood here after we went out on a date?"

Nadia starts laughing herself, remembering quite fondly how Tom took his shot on her and how GOOD that felt for her. Oh, and she also remembers that shot being interrupted..."SYDNEY! IT'S ME AND TOM! I'LL BE IN IN A BIT!"

Tom gets a shocked look on his face as Nadia is yelling. When she finally finishes, he looks around frantically. "Whoa! You want everyone on the block to know you're home?"

Nadia finishes laughing, she seizes an opportunity to take her shot this time. She grabs the front of Tom's collar and pulls him in for a goodnight kiss. They hold on to the kiss for a few seconds, before finally letting go.

Nadia then smiles wide and says "Thank you for a great time tonight. It was really wonderful."

Tom puts his hands on her hips. "Absolutely. Give me a call tomorrow, let me know how your return to work went."

"I will. I guess I'll see you at work on Monday?"

"Yes, you will." Tom says with an eager grin. "I love you, beautiful." And like he did when he was on Sydney's porch the last time, he takes his chance and leans in for a deep kiss with Nadia, which is happily returned.

Nadia giggles a bit. She loves being called that, and the kiss that followed. "Love ya, handsome! Have a good night. Sleep well."

Tom suddenly realizes that Nadia wants to turn and go in, so he has to let go of her hips. "You too, have a good night."

The two share a smiling, longing look at one another for a moment, then Nadia takes the initiative to go inside. Tom just can't get enough of her.

Tom spins on his heels and starts walking back to his car, hands in his pockets and trying to think how this night could have gone better. Maybe less investigation into one another perhaps, but there was a small victory in there. He thinks back to the conversation he and Nadia just had about the program. Nadia has really yet to open up about anything during her time in the orphanage, but she cracked the door open just a little to her past there. That program meant a lot to her. She'd probably love to have it back.

And then he gets a wild idea. It just so happens that his return to work Monday coincides with the day that Nadia says it's her birthday. Now, she doesn't truly believe it's her birthday, but in another brief glimpse into her past, she says that's the day they chose to celebrate her simply being alive at the orphanage. That's her words, not his. So, Tom wants to make her birthday, the celebration of her simply existing, special, even if she doesn't think it is. _  
_

And that program? THAT would be special. But who could possibly still have a program that old from a game that means little in Argentina national football history?

Oh. Him.

He knows a guy that can get him that program. And it's not a guy that Sloane, Jack, or anyone at APO would want him to be consorting with after he's back at work. But you know what they say about the devil you know...

Then he realizes something as he gets into his car: He can pull this off before Monday. In fact, he can probably find some way, some how to get on a flight to Buenos Aires tonight. Might cost him a pretty penny, and lord knows what this guy will ask out of Tom for the program, but Nadia is worth it. It's insane, it's nuts, and he knows that there isn't a single living, breathing soul that's would even fathom doing what he's about to do for his girlfriend, and he knows there's few girlfriends on this planet that would appreciate what he's about to do more than Nadia would.

But that makes it all the sweeter. Tom's all about doing the unexpected. He loves surprising people, both in his personal life and in the field. He lives for it, in fact.

Tom then peels off, intent on getting Nadia that program. It's going to happen.

* * *

_**Jack's house** _

We find Jack sitting in a recliner reading some documents. He's wearing reading glasses and has a glass of bourbon sitting off to his left. Jack always has enjoyed the quiet moments of life, and tonight's no exception.

He jumps a bit as the cell phone next to that bourbon glass rings. With an irritated glare at the cordless phone to his left, he picks it up quickly, knowing it's an emergency of some sort. Or a telemarketer. "This better be important, it's late."

On the other end, Jack hears "I understand, but you said you wanted to know if Tom Falk was going to be leaving the area unexpectedly?"

Jack leans forward. This night just got interesting. "Yes, what is it?"

"A man fitting Falk's description just boarded a plane bound for Buenos Aires. I'm 99% sure it's him."

Jack raises his eyebrows in shock. He knows Tom returns to work the day after next, what could he be going to Buenos Aires for? Still unsure, Jack says "Thank you" and hangs up.

Immediately after hanging up, he punches a number into his phone and puts the phone to his ear. "This is Jack Bristow. I need you to track a man that will be landing in Buenos Aires in the morning from Los Angeles. His name is Tom Falk. I'll email you the particulars in a bit."

A man who is obviously latino in nature responds "Do you want me to approach this man?"

Jack immediately replies "No, just follow him and report to me on his stops. Do not intervene in anything he does."

"Got it."

Jack hangs up. He knew Tom could be a bit unpredictable, but not like this. No man in their right mind would gamble on this after all that Tom's been through with Sloane.

As it turns out, Jack was about to learn an important lesson about Tom's determination.

* * *

_**Buenos** _ _**Aires, the next day** _

The sun is starting to rise at the Ezezia International Airport. Inside, we find Tom leaving an arrival gate from a flight from Los Angeles. As he walks towards the baggage claim, we spot an Argentinian man get up and hold up a cell phone to his ear.

On the other line, we see Jack pick up the phone at APO. There's not many people there since it's a Sunday, but Jack and Sloane are. Jack puts the phone to his ear and says "Is he there?"

"Yes, he just left the plane, I'm following him to the baggage claim...wait..."

Jack quickly asks "What is it?"

In the airport, Tom walks right by the baggage claim. The tracker, still on the phone, says with some surprise "He didn't pack anything for this trip. He's heading straight for the exit."

We see Tom walk out the exit and stand curbside, waiting for something. The man walks out the exit himself and bumps into Tom. Tom looks at the man a little irritated. "Hey! Too many cocktails on the plane?"

The man casually shakes his head and says "Apenado, señor (Sorry, sir)." and continues to walk towards a parking lot across the way.

Tom doesn't pay him another second of attention as he goes back to looking for a taxi.

On the phone and walking towards a taxi car that is presently unoccupied, the tracker tells Jack "Ok, I just planted a tracking device on him, but it's a short-range tracker. I'll keep following him just to be safe."

Jack, back at APO, says "Good, let me know where he goes."

Jack then hangs up the phone and looks up at Sloane, who has a curious look. "What was that about?" Sloane asks.

Jack says "Tom Falk went to Buenos Aires. Nadia wasn't aware that Tom was going out of the country, and she spent most of the day with him yesterday. I'm having Tom followed."

Sloane, rather plainly, says "Keep me informed" and walks off.

Back in Buenos Aires, Tom is able to flag down a taxi. The taxi stops and Tom opens the rear passenger's door and gets in.

Inside the cab, he hands the cab driver a slip of paper. "¿Sabes de dónde es esto? (Do you know where this is?)"

The cab driver sighs. "Por desgracia, sí (Unfortunately, yes)."

Tom, rather intently, says "Bueno, aunque por suerte sabía donde estaba, me lleve allí de todos modos. Usted obtendrá una buena propina. (Well, even if you fortunately knew where it was, take me there anyway. You'll get a good tip.)"

The driver merely says "Si (yes)" and starts driving off.

The tracker in the taxi would follow right behind them, even cutting off a car in the process.

* * *

_**Magistrados Cantina** _

The taxi pulls up to a rather uninviting cantina in the city. Drab places would be offended to be compared to this place, what with the broken windows that are boarded up and the stucco paint chipping off like it's losing an unwinnable battle with Father Time.

The taxi driver says "Aquí tiene. 52 pesos argentinos (Here you are. 52 Argentine pesos.)." He wastes no time in turning towards Tom and holding out his hand for money, like he wants to get the heck out of here.

Tom reaches into his pocket and gives him 4 bills, indifferent to the driver's concern. "Quédese con el cambio (Keep the change)."

The cab driver looks at the money and smiles. Apparently, Tom's given him quite the tip. "Usted es un hombre de palabra! (You're a man of your word!)"

Tom smirks back and gets out of the cab. The taxi drives off and Tom walks into the cantina.

There's a couple of Argentine gang members in the cantina, which is also about as inviting on the inside as Hitler's bunker when Berlin was getting bombed at the end of World War II, but it doesn't look very busy at all. The gangsters eye Tom down a bit as he walks up to a man keeping watch over a reinforced steel door on the far side of the bar. The man holds up his hand and says, in English, "What do you want?"

Tom, who's rather unintimidated by his surroundings, casually replies "I'd like to speak to your boss."

The doorman shakes his head. "He's not accepting visitors, especially gringos."

Tom lets an evil smirk form on his face. "Oh, but a very special gringo has returned. Tell him...Halcón Diablo wants to see him. Then, you come back and tell me he's not accepting any gringos. I know you're bright enough to not lie to your boss, so I'll be awaiting your honest reply."

The doorman eyes Tom down a bit, turns and walks in the door.

One of the larger gang members that was watching Tom intently walks up to him now. In a deep, intimidating voice, he says "Did I just hear you just call yourself 'Halcón Diablo'?"

Tom, still smirking, says "You heard right. Have we met?"

The gang member eyes him down a bit, then grins, softening his hard look rather quickly. "I fought the Conquistadores during the raid you tipped us off on a few years ago. That was a great day for us, and I'd be honored to buy you a drink, esse!"

Tom shakes his head. It's not that he's not flattered by this guy's offer, but he needs a clear head right now. "I appreciate the offer, but I'll wait for your boss to offer me something. Just seems proper to me."

Just as he says that, the doorman returns. He says "Hector will see you now." He then turns away, a bit ashamed at doubting Tom.

Tom smiles at the man and walks right by through the door.

Tom enters an office that features various posters, pictures, and mementos from Argentinian culture. It's not very big, and dead ahead of Tom is a large wooden desk that takes up at least a fourth of the office's real estate. And behind that desk is a rather large older man, with graying black hair and graying black goatee.

Before Tom can say anything, the man stands up quickly and slams his hand on the table. "Haha! Right on schedule! Every four years, Halcón Diablo drops by and we go on a bloody crusade together! It's good to see you, my friend!"

Tom smirks as he casually walks up to the man and shakes his hand. "Good to see you too, Mister Villejas."

The man laughs that last part off. "Oh please, you know better than that. Call me Hector! Have a seat, my man!"

"Very well, Hector. I always appreciate your hospitality." Tom then takes his seat and leans back while folding his hands at his waist, looking as casual as possible. "How are things with the Los Magistrados since our last 'bloody crusade' in 2001?"

Hector takes a seat himself. "Things could not be better! A few small gangs like to make noise, but it's nothing we can't handle! Can I offer you a drink?" Hector pulls out a bottle of tequila that he has in his desk, and judging by the bottle, it's probably both vintage and high-dollar stuff.

But before he can start pouring tequila into two shot glasses that Hector also pulled out just now, Tom holds his hand up. "Hector, you should know by know that I prefer to save my drinks until after our business is complete."

Hector stops what he's doing and puts his finger in the air. "A ha! You're right! My apologies for forgetting the custom of my favorite CIA agent!"

Tom shakes his head dismissively. "No apology necessary, Hector. I just need help locating something and thought you were the man to see."

Hector raises his eyebrows a bit as he leans forward and folds his hands on the desk. "Another man being held hostage by a rival gang?"

Tom shakes his head again. "No. This is a personal favor I need from you. No gangs need to be wiped off the map this time."

Hector chuckles, but forms a little bit of a disappointed look on his face, perhaps realizing that Tom doesn't need anything big from him this time. "I see, I see. What can I do for you?"

Tom leans forward with a serious look on his face. "Hector, you told me during the Conquistadores mission that if there was anything I ever needed, you could get it. I said back then that I'd test you on that promise. Well, here I am."

Hector leans back in his chair and smirks. "Very well, what is it you're looking for?"

"Do you deal in fútbol memorabilia?"

After raising his eyebrows in surprise, Hector starts busting out laughing. "Are you kidding? You came all the way down here to ask me this?"

Tom looks a little disconcerted, wondering if Hector is going to trivialize his request, which he probably has a right to do admittedly. "This item I'm looking for is very important to me. It's for a friend of mine that just moved to the States from Argentina. She lost this game program she had growing up and she valued it highly. Her birthday is tomorrow. Now, I have a feeling this item is very rare, and finding one, in ANY condition, 20 years after the fact might be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. So yes, to answer your question, I came here to ask you that because I need your help finding this, mint condition if possible."

Hector stops laughing and then waves his hand. "I'm sorry to belittle your problem. What game is this program from?" Tom quickly replies "The program is from a 1985 World Cup Qualifying match between Argentina and Venezuela. The game was held at the Estadio Monumental. I figured if there was anyone that might still have a copy lying around somewhere, it'd be you."

Hector chuckles a bit. "I run the company that prints the programs for those games. My family has owned that company since the 1970's. So, yes, I probably do have a copy..." Hector then thinks for a bit. An idea just popped into his mind, causing him to form a satisfied smirk. "...but, I cannot accept money for this item. You want me to do you this favor, I'll need a favor from you."

"If there is a financial price tag to this program, I'd rather discuss that. Money isn't an object."

"But you have to understand that money is no good to a man like me. Money breeds problems, and I'm having a problem with one of my money making properties. So the only price that is available for this program is this favor that I ask of you."

Tom shifts in his chair a bit, a little worried about what Hector will ask of him. "What do you need?"

Hector leans forward. "I own a grocery store a couple blocks away. I've had a problem with a persistent shop-lifter who steals from my store every single day. He's an arrogant little punk who thinks he's just SO CLEVER! This little bitch has disobeyed my shopkeeper's orders to stay out of the store every single time. I just received a call before you arrived that he's there right now and he refuses to leave. Little does he know...he's about to get a visit from the notorious Halcón Diablo! I want you to kill this young punk!"

Tom doesn't break his confident look, but inside, his stomach is churning. He got out of the cold-blooded killing business years ago, and even though he loves Nadia more than life itself right now, killing a petty thief is giving him a lot of hesitation, for obvious reasons. Tom wonders if there's another way he can defuse the problem...

"Will you do this task for me, Tom?"

Tom stops thinking and says "If you'll provide me a gun and an escort for the duration of my stay here in Argentina, along with that program, I'll see that your shoplifter problem is taken care of. Now, can we have that drink?"

Hector chuckles a bit, then stands up and opens up the tequila bottle that he left out on the desk. He then fills the two shots and hands one to Tom, then holds up his glass for a toast. "To 8 years of good business with each other...and many more!"

Tom smirks and says "Here here!" and taps his glass with Hector's and drinks the shot, still a little worried about what's to come.

* * *

_**Outside the Cantina/APO Office** _

Tom walks out and gets into the back seat of a car that Hector provided for him. As the car drives off, we see a taxi down the street take off after it. It's being driven by the man that Jack has tasked to track Tom in Argentina.

The man gets back on the phone. Jack answers. "You have something?"

"He just left a cantina owned by Hector Villejas, the head of the largest gang in Argentina. He got into a car owned by Hector and I'm following him."

Jack stirs in his seat a bit. "Does he suspect he's being followed?"

The man shakes his head. "No, he seems pretty intent on his business. Wait, the car just stopped...ah, in front of a grocery store. I know this place, Hector owns it." Outside, Tom gets out of the car and walks into the store. The tracker tells Jack "He just went in the store...and he's armed. I see the gun in the back of his jeans. I think Hector has given Tom an errand of some sort."

Jack, now a bit panicked, says "Let me know what he does" and hangs up. He gets up from his desk and walks to Sloane's office.

Immediately, Sloane notices him. "Jack, you have something new on Tom?"

Jack nods. "Tom appears to be working with Hector Villejas on something. He's the head of the Los Magistrados gang in Argentina. I remember from when I recruited Tom that he had prior dealings with Hector, including the mission that he met Nadia in. I'm not sure what business he has with him this time." Jack holds back the thing about the gun and the grocery store for now, wanting to see how Sloane will react to just this news.

Sloane leans back in his chair and ponders what Tom could be doing with Hector. Eventually, he speaks. "You mentioned to me, Jack, that Tom has never betrayed whoever he's worked for. And now, it would seem he has a keen interest in staying on the straight and narrow because of my daughter. And here he is, dealing with a man that has brought the CIA benefit in the past."

Jack looks a bit confused. "What are you saying?"

Sloane shrugs. "I wouldn't be too worried. If he shows up to work tomorrow with either something or a valid explanation about this trip, then I'd consider this a non-issue."

Jack, a little perturbed, says "He did not inform anyone about this trip, and who knows..." Sloane cuts him off. "And why would he have? He's technically still suspended."

"Tom didn't inform Nadia he was leaving."

"She could be covering for him. Those two seem to be very close of late."

Jack, seeing as Sloane is not going to budge, says "I'm going to keep an eye on him anyway. I just don't like the timing of this."

Sloane shrugs and gets up from his seat and starts gathering his things. "That's up to you. But I wouldn't start getting worried until he doesn't show up tomorrow, and I believe he'll be here. He wouldn't jeopardize betraying Nadia by doing something stupid in Argentina. He may be reckless, but he's not stupid. Have a good day."

Sloane walks past Jack, who is standing there stunned at the conversation he just had. He had thought for sure Sloane would have been against Tom's trip. Or have Tom and Sloane gone from mortal enemies to best friends? Jack sighs and walks back to his office, still not sure what to make of things.

* * *

_**Hector's Grocery Store** _

Inside the grocery store, Tom takes off his sunglasses in front of the register. He holds up a picture and looks at it for a bit, then looks around the small store for his man. Immediately, he finds him in a produce aisle in the back-right corner of the store, sporting a shaved bald head, large silver necklace, dirty wifebeater, and torn up jeans.

Immediately, Tom makes a beeline for that man. With the man's back turned to him, Tom walks up behind him and puts him in an air-tight headlock. The man squirms to try to break free, but Tom literally has a vice-grip on his neck as he's being dragged down the aisle and through a pair of swinging doors that lead to a backroom.

He tosses the young man on some empty boxes and quickly pulls out a gun he had tucked in the back of his jeans and points it at him.

The young man quickly gets up to his feet and wants to charge at Tom, but sees the gun pointed at him and stops. "Whoa! Don't shoot, don't shoot!"

Tom raises a curious eyebrow at the man. "You speak crystal clear English?"

"Yes! I was in an exchange program when I was little, man! Don't kill me!" 

Tom continues to eye down the young man with a menacing look. "Junior Ortiz, do you know why I'm here?"

Junior stands there nervously. He doesn't say anything for a few seconds.

Tom doesn't like when his targets don't answer his questions. And he doesn't want to waste any more time than he has to here, partly just to keep Junior in a panic so he'll he open and honest, but partly because he doesn't like being in this situation at all.

So, Tom gets upset and fires a shot at his feet. The shot hits the ground about an inch from Junior's right toe, which causes Junior to jump up and scream in surprise.

Tom then points the gun back at Junior's head, cocks back the hammer, and yells "JUNIOR ORTIZ, DO YOU KNOW WHY I'M HERE?"

Junior quickly answers "Because Hector sent you? I know I've been stealing from this store, but listen..."

Tom fires a shot past Junior's ear, causing Junior to scream and start crying. Tom, in a loud, gravely voice, says "I'LL LISTEN WHEN I FEEL LIKE LISTENING! Now, you listen to me and you listen to me good! Hector sent me here to kill you!"

Junior's lip starts to quiver even more. "Please! I'm just trying to provide for my girlfriend and a son! We're homeless!"

Tom starts breathing heavily as he continues to have a menacing look on his face, having warned Junior against backtalk. But this latest development surprised him a bit. "You mean to tell me that this is your best idea for taking care of your family?"

Junior quickly says "I can't get a job! Hector has blackballed me and no one will hire me!"

Tom, still pointing his gun at Junior, reaches into his left pocket and pulls out his cell phone. He dials a number and puts the phone to his ear. He tells Junior "I'm going to confirm that last little comment you made."

On the other end, Hector answers. "Hello?"

Tom says "Hector, it's Diablo. I'm here with your little shoplifter, and he has an interesting theory on why he feels the need to steal from your store!"

Hector chuckles. "And what does the little bastard have to say?"

Tom plainly says "He says he's homeless and you blackballed him from gaining employment. Is that true?"

"Tom, that is none of your business. Get rid of him..." Hector's gregariousness is gone.

"Hector, if the man can't get work, then how else is he going to feed his girlfriend and kid and put a roof over their heads? I'm not exactly looking at a hardened-criminal here, Hector, he's just a damn kid!"

Hector get angry now on the phone. "Have you gone soft on me, Tom? I said KILL HIM!"

Tom, now visibly upset, quickly replies "I'm not just some gun-for-hire and you know it, Hector! Sending me as your buttonman is a little overkill here, don't you think?" Tom then takes a couple seconds to calm down. "Hector, I've thought up of an alternative solution. I can kill this boy if you want, but I want you to at least entertain this idea. Will you listen? You're a reasonable man, Hector."

After a pause, Hector replies "I'm listening."

Tom breathes a sigh of relief, happy that Hector is willing to hear him out. "You own a couple of farms outside of town, right?"

"I will not put him to work on my drug farms..."

Tom cuts him off. "No, not THOSE farms. But, you advertise in your store that you still sell fresh produce, and I assumed you still owned those produce farms outside of town."

"Yes...yes I do. Come to think of it, my foreman at my farm in Lobos has been begging me to send him some help. I have a truck that takes people from the city there at 6 every morning. Are you suggesting that I put this boy to work?"

Tom smirks, seeing as he may have just found a way out of this. "Hang on, let me ask him if he'd want to do that." Tom presses the phone to the side of the leg and looks back at Junior, gun still pointed at him. Junior has not moved an inch since Tom started talking to Hector. Tom says "You have two options. One, I put a bullet in between your eyes right here, right now..."

Junior screams "No! Please!"

Tom pulls back the hammer on his gun and his sneer from earlier continues. "Don't cut me off again! The second option, which I highly advise you take, is to go to work in Hector's farm in Lobos. My guess is you won't earn a full wage until Hector deems you've paid for all that you've stolen from him, but eventually, you will have gainful employment and I'm sure you can take some food home with you, I know how he operates. So death or work, what's it going to be!"

Junior quickly answers "I'll work on the farm! I'll work anywhere...just please! Don't kill me!"

Tom nods and puts the phone back on his ear. "Did you hear that, Hector? He'll work for you."

On the other end, Hector audibly sighs. "Ok, let me talk to him."

Tom reaches over and hands Junior the cell phone. "He wants to talk to you."

Junior takes the phone and starts talking to Hector. While he's on the phone, Tom keeps the gun pointed at Junior and doesn't break his glare.

After about a minute, Junior hands the phone back to Tom.

Tom puts the phone back on his ear. "Are we good here?"

Hector chuckles and appears to have his happy mood back. "Yes, we're good. You did your job. Let Junior go, talk to my shopkeeper, hand him your gun and say you're there for the key. Then, have my escort take you to the Retiro Bus Station. Inside, you'll find a wall of lockers. Your key will have a number on it, that will be your locker number. By the time you get there, your program will be waiting for you."

Tom nods his head and lowers his gun, much to the relief of Junior...and himself. On the phone, he tells Hector "It's been a pleasure working with you again, Hector."

Hector smirks and says "Always. Adios, amigo."

Tom says "Adios" back and hangs up the phone. Tom smirks at Junior and says "If you don't get on that truck to the Lobos farm tomorrow, it won't me me that hunts your ass down next time. And I guarantee you whoever does will not be able to convince Hector to spare your life again."

A very insistent Junior says "I'll be on it! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Whatever. Get out of here and go find a shelter for your family."

Junior nods and runs out of the backroom. Outside, Tom's tracker sees Junior jog out of the grocery store, then take off down the street.

Back inside the store, Tom walks up to the shopkeeper's counter and does as he's instructed and gets the key from the shopkeeper. He exits and enters the escort car.

* * *

_**Retiro Bus Station** _

Before Tom gets out of the car, he gets a phone call. He answers. "Hello?"

On the other end, it's Hector. "Tomas! You have a tail on you!"

Tom quickly turns around and looks back and sees the taxi that his tracker has been driving in. "Taxi?"

"Yeah, but he hasn't had a passenger for some time, but my men tell me he's awfully interested in you. They were eyeing him at the store."

"Thanks for the heads up!"

Hector says "No problem. My shopkeeper tells me he hasn't been aggressively tracking you, but I thought you'd want the heads up anyway."

Tom says "Thanks, amigo" and hangs up the phone and gets out of his car. He doesn't look back at the car that's been tailing him as he enters the bus station.

On the other side of the small bus station, he spots the lockers. He walks up to them, sticks his key in a locker, and opens it up to find a manila envelope inside. He reaches in, opens the envelope, and finds his program in mint condition, just as he requested. He smiles widely. "Nadia's gonna love this!"

As he does that, he spots his tracker sitting on a row of seats casually talking on the phone. Tom quickly turns back to his manila envelope and puts the program back in. He walks towards the exit, which means he'll have to walk by his tracker.

As Tom starts to walk by the tracker, he suddenly reaches over and snatches the phone from the man's ear before he can react. The tracker lunges at him, but Tom responds by grabbing the tracker and giving him a HARD punch to the face with his right hand, knocking him out. Tom looks at his fist for a bit, a bit surprised at his own power.

But he can't afford to awe at his own strength because he's getting some curious looks right now from others nearby. Tom gets on the tracker's phone. "Who is this?"

On the other end, Jack plainly says "It's Jack Bristow. What in the hell did you do just now?"

Tom raises his eyebrows, not expecting to hear Jack's voice. In a rather cocky tone, Tom says "Sorry Jack, I just knocked out your tracker. Seems like I always get followed in Argentina, and I had no idea he was with you. When he wakes up, give him my apologies."

On the other end, an irritated Jack asks "What the hell are you doing down there?"

Tom, now with a serious look on his face, says "I had to pick up something before I returned to work tomorrow. I'm on the next flight back. See you then."

Before Jack can respond, Tom hangs up the phone and tosses it on the limp body of his tracker.

Tom then walks out of the bus station, puts his sunglasses back on, and takes a happy sigh of relief. He got Nadia's program and he didn't have to kill anyone to get it. In fact, he probably changed a young man's life around for good.

He also can't wait to see the look on Nadia's face tomorrow. That has made everything he did today worth it.

Mission accomplished.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	8. Surprises

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episodes 10 and 11_

* * *

_**APO Office** _

A cheery Tom Falk walks through the APO entrance. Forget the fact that he got all his sleep on the plane back from Buenos Aires. Forget the fact that his plane literally just landed an hour or so ago. Nope, none of that matters at all. 

He's holding something wrapped under his right arm, presumably Nadia's program. And dammit, he can't wait to show it to Nadia. What an epic surprise this will be! As he's walking towards the corner that turns into the APO office area, he's whistling "You'll Never Walk Alone" by Gerry and the Pacemakers, with the biggest grin on his face.

However, as he reaches the corner, he's cut off by an agitated Jack Bristow, who apparently saw Tom come in the entrance and was prepared for him. Immediately, Tom stops his whistling and his grin disappears. He whistles a couple notes of Chopin's "Funeral March" and then thinks the wiser when Jack somehow manages to look more agitated.

Jack, who looms over Tom like the Grim Reaper himself, says with doom and gloom "Your conduct yesterday was..."

In what probably isn't a wise move, Tom cuts him off rather cockily. "...the conduct of a man who was still suspended. But, I'm back now. I'm not suspended anymore, so I'll cut out the surprise trips now."

Jack sighs, looking like he doesn't appreciate being cut off. He looks less intimidating now and more pensive. "What were you doing in Argentina?"

Tom raises an eyebrow, then looks down at the gift that he has tucked in his right arm. He grabs the gift with his left hand and holds it up for Jack. "I was just picking up this!"

Jack looks at the gift. His pensiveness is now curiousity. All that for...that? "What is it?"

Tom looks back up at Jack, still not intimidated. "Well, this is a birthday gift for Nadia. It's really one of those things you can only get in Argentina. I was going to surprise her with it now. Follow me!"

Before Jack can respond, Tom sidesteps Jack and heads towards the office area. Jack grudgingly follows along.

Tom turns down the hallway, and then down the row of cubicles. The very moment he spots Nadia at her desk, he forms that giant grin he had when he arrived at APO just a little bit ago and starts whistling "Happy Birthday".

Nadia looks up suddenly upon hearing Tom and smiles. "Hey! Welcome back!" Nadia walks over and gives Tom a hug.

Tom returns the hug, but appears to ignore that comment and keeps whistling "Happy Birthday".

Nadia lets go and looks at what Tom has in his left hand. "What's that?" She asks with absolutely no illusions about what it could be.

As Jack hovers over him, Tom grabs the gift and hands it to Nadia. "Just a little something I picked up yesterday. I hope you'll forgive me for not having time to wrap it on the plane."

Nadia looks perplexed at the gift. "What is...?" Nadia then looks up at Tom with a look of confusion. "Wait, why were you on a plane?"

"I hear it's your birthday today! So, I got you a little something."

Nadia chuckles a bit and shakes her head. "Tom, I don't even know when my birthdate is..."

An intent and jovial Tom cuts her off. "It's gotta be sometime! And today is the day you've historically celebrated your birthday! So I'm going to celebrate it by giving you a birthday gift!"

Nadia looks back down at the gift. "But you said you were on a plane. Where did you get this?"

"It'll all make sense in a moment, trust me. Come on, open it up!"

This conversation has now attracted the attention of Sloane and Sydney, who both walk from Sloane's office over to Nadia's desk.

Nadia notices them, and now looks embarrassed. "Come on guys, it's no big deal!"

Sloane looks at the gift Nadia has in her hands, then over at Tom, a bit unimpressed. "This is what you went to Argentina for yesterday?"

Sydney raises her eyebrows. She had no idea Tom went out to Argentina yesterday.

But no one in the room is more shocked than Nadia, who was looking at the gift. Somehow avoiding whiplash, she snaps her head up with one shocked look on her face. "Tom, you...went to Argentina for this? How could you have been able to make it there and back..."

"I went to LAX immediately after the game, hopped a charter plane..."

Sydney flatly says "That must have been expensive."

Tom looks at Sydney with a smirk. "I've saved well in my career." Tom then looks back at Nadia. "Landed, went through a mutual friend of ours..."

"Your friend is the leader of one of the biggest Argentine gangs." Sloane points out blankly.

Nadia gives Sloane a surprised look, then looks back at Tom. "Who?"

Tom smirks. "Come on, who else could it be?"

Nadia thinks, then looks like a lightbulb just went off her head.

But as opens her mouth to speak, Tom cuts her off impatiently. "Ok, I got the gift, hopped back on a plane, and landed an hour ago. The end. Enough talk. OPEN IT!" Tom says frantically, the anticipation of what surely will be a most awesome reaction from Nadia getting to be too much.

Nadia gives Tom a glare, then proceeds to open up her gift, with Jack, Sloane, and Sydney looking on with great interest.

Once she's opened the plastic bag, she reaches in and pulls out the futbol program. Argentina vs Venezuala, 1985 World Cup Qualifying match. Her eyebrows shoot up as high as they go and her mouth opens wide in complete, utter shock, which she caps off with a shriek that can only come from one of two things: getting a bucket of ice cold water thrown on you while you're sunbathing, and getting the most cherished and unique gift that you previously thought was lost for good. "OH MY GOD! The program!" Nadia looks at the cover for a while, then thumbs through the program a bit. It's all there, just as she remembers. Her eyes get misty as the memories flood back into her head.

Sydney notices Nadia's reaction and can't help but feel happy for her, too. "Tom, I'd say you just about made Nadia's year with that!" She then looks over at Nadia. "That program must really mean a lot to you."

Tom goes to answer, but Nadia cuts him off, her voice a little weepy. "I had a copy of this program at the orphanage, I went to the game when I was very young...I treasured this program more than ANYTHING growing up..." Nadia then looks over at Tom and is about to cry tears of joy. "Tom, I can't believe you did this for me! In all my life, I've never..." Nadia loses the words as she chokes back the tears of joy. 

With a calm smile, Tom says "The reaction when you opened that program..." Tom then turns to Sloane, and then Jack and turns back to Nadia to finish his sentence. "...made it all worth it. I would have paid double what I paid for airfare if I knew that you'd react the way you did."

Nadia then gently sets down the program and gives Tom a gigantic hug. "Thank you so much! That may be the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me..."

Sloane, with a smile that says he's almost proud of Tom for what he did for his daughter, says "That was a very nice thing you did, Tom."

Tom turns over to Sloane, still hugging Nadia, and gives him a headnod.

Sydney interjects. "Well, I say that you've definitely earned yourself some cake and ice cream at my place tonight. We're having a party for Nadia."

Nadia releases the hug suddenly and gives Sydney a look. "What?"

Sloane replies "Sydney suggested it just a few minutes ago. You should be with your friends and family on your birthday."

Nadia is astonished at all the attention that's been focused on her in the last couple minutes along with being just completely bowled over with the gift Tom went insanely out of his way for. With her face turning a bit red, she tells everyone "Guys, really! It's not a big deal!"

Tom laughs, which forces Nadia to turn to him quickly. Tom says "If your birthday wasn't a big deal, then I wouldn't have gone the length I went to in order to get that gift for you!" Tom then turns over to Sloane with a happy grin. "Count me in!" Tom turns over to Jack, who has his usual poker face. "Are you coming, Jack?"

Jack nods his head, but still doesn't appear to be all that festive. "Yes. And we'll talk about your little trip later."

Tom shrugs, not the least bit concerned about the conversation that is to come. Tom turns back over to Sydney. "You need me to bring or cook anything?"

Sydney looks at him a little sarcastically. "I think you've done enough today!"

Tom shakes his head. "If I can go to Argentina and back in 36 hours for Nadia, I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I brought over a casserole or something."

With a smile, Nadia asks "You bake?"

Tom gives her a bit of a sheepish and quite unsure grin. "Not very good, but when I was living alone in Baltimore before coming here, I could usually manage to cook this spaghetti chicken casserole...thing without burning it."

"Why do I get the feeling that this is an original recipe?"

"Because the first time I made it, I used leftover spaghetti and chicken. It was getting to be either eat it or throw it out time for both, and I didn't get sick after I ate..."

As Nadia raises a dissatisfied eyebrow over Tom's bachelor improvisational (and risky) cooking skills, Sydney face turns a bit disgusted, not all that appetized anymore. "Tom, I'll handle the food. Just bring yourself.

Sloane breaks up the happy vibe. "Alright, let's get back to work. Welcome back, Tom."

Tom looks at Sloane and smirks. "Glad to be back."

Jack, Sloane, and Sydney go their separate ways. This allows Tom to sneak in a quick kiss with Nadia, who has managed to get less misty-eyed from the program, probably thanks to Tom's lousy cooking story.

Tom sits down at his desk and goes to work on his computer.

Nadia sits at hers, but looks over at the program, then back at Tom. She can't help but smile at him and be in a bit of awe over him.

She also can't help but wonder just what possessed him to do such a thing. I mean, yeah, she loves him and she can tell he appreciates that. But there was a time in her life when no one would even give her a tissue to wipe the blood off her face from when a few cops roughed her up after she robbed a store, all so she could live another day on the streets because, again, no one would help her. Tom, on the other hand, goes to Argentina on a complete and utter whim for a freaking program just to make her happy. 

Then she tells herself in her mind to just go with it, and accept that she has found a man who loves her dearly. That is more than enough for her.

* * *

_**Sloane's House** _

Tom, Sloane, and Jack are seated at the dinner table. Sydney went off a little bit ago, and Nadia followed her not long after that. They both haven't been back for a bit.

Sloane and Jack appear to have finished their meal, but Tom is still happily eating, apparently oblivious to what Sydney and Nadia could possibly be up to. After taking a bite of his pasta, he looks up at Jack. "Your daughter's a hell of a cook, Jack. Wonder where she gets it from." He says that last part with a smile, in an attempt to get a rise out of Jack. It's something he likes to do now and then, knowing how stoic Jack always is.

Jack is not amused. Immediately, he changes the conversation. "We need to talk about your trip to Argentina yesterday."

Tom drops his fork and looks irritated. He's partly frustrated at how wooden Jack is, but also frustrated because he thought maybe, just maybe, Jack could have moved on by now. "You saw the gift I got for Nadia. That's why I went down there, that's the ONLY reason I went down there. I went down there to make Nadia as happy as she could possibly be on her birthday. And it worked. I think that pretty much covers it, Jack."

An undaunted Jack asks "What did you have to do to get that program?"

Tom chuckles and goes back to his food. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me" Jack utters with a sinister tone.

Tom drops his fork again and looks at Jack a bit flustered. "In exchange for the program, Hector Villejas, the leader of the Los Magistrados gang, wanted me to kill this teenage boy that was constantly shoplifting from his grocery store."

As Sloane appears to be sitting back and merely evaluating Tom right now, Jack looks aghast. "Please don't tell me you actually committed murder for a soccer program."

Tom looks offended. "Jack, you think way too little of me."

"Quite the contrary. I know what you're capable of."

"Yeah, but I'm not insane. I defused the situation by getting Hector to agree to hire the kid to work on one of his produce farms. The boy had a girlfriend and a son and was living on the street and now, he has gainful employment and can finally feed his family the proper way. So, I actually did two good things down there when you get down to it."

Sloane suddenly asks "Why did you go through a gang leader to get that program?"

Tom turns his glance over at Sloane to his left. "I've worked with Villejas in the past and have good relations with him. His family owns the magazine plant that produces those programs, so he was my best bet at getting Nadia this program. Plus, I hadn't spoken with Hector for some time. You should know as well as I do that it's good to keep your powerful contacts fresh."

Sloane smirks, actually agreeing with Tom and almost enjoying leveling with him, at least on the surface. "Why side with Villejas?"

Tom laughs and rolls his eyes. "What, are you going to give me a lecture on shady contacts, Sloane? You know as well as I do that having those kind of contacts on your side is a sad but true reality of what we do."

Sloane leans forward, not angry but simply curious now. "That's not what I was referring to. I'm asking why you what made you take sides with him in the first place and not another gangster?"

Tom leans forward as well, now looking sincere rather than sarcastic like he just was. Sloane was merely probing and probably looking to learn something about how Tom operates. "In the Anti-Cartel, I learned early on that many gangs and their leaders were either stubborn, stupid, or in most cases, both. But, I also learned early on that the gangs that are headed by smart men willing to listen to reason...THOSE were the ones you wanted on your side. Not only will these leaders listen to reason, but also because the smart ones were usually the top dogs. If you're going to have scum on your side, why not choose the best?"

Sloane smirks again. "That's an interesting philosophy." Sloane's awfully tempted to ask him "Is that why you're here in APO?" But, he thinks better of it, taking the high road that he doubts Tom would have taken if the shoe were on the other foot. Plus, it'd simply be incorrect, given how Tom feels about Nadia.

After Sloane pauses to ponder his joke-making abilities, Jack takes over the conversation. "You should have informed someone, even if it were Sydney or Nadia."

Tom looks over at Jack with his eyebrows raised. "I didn't want to risk blowing the birthday surprise! Besides, I was still suspended. But, I'm ready to play ball now. You don't have to worry about me making those surprise trips again as long as I'm in this division's good graces. You have my word on that."

Jack nods, but doesn't say anything further.

Sloane, however, decides he doesn't like the high road anymore. He wants to see if he can take advantage of Tom in a comfortable moment. "How are you feeling lately?"

Tom glances over at Sloane confused. "Uh, what?"

Sloane fires back "How are you feeling physically? Or is your condition that precludes you from being a full field agent a mental one?"

Before Tom can respond, Jack cuts him off. "Sloane, what are you doing?"

Sloane keeps his glare on Tom. "I just want to know what is going on. I watched you match Anna Espinosa, a woman who even Sydney has trouble keeping up with, step for step out there in the parking lot at the hospital. So your health issue isn't physical. And Nadia tells me that you've been in a great mood lately, and while your actions to get an obscure soccer program is probably not something a normal person would have done, I don't think it's a mental issue. I want to know what this big mystery is, because I can't figure it out."

Tom gives Sloane an angry glare. "Sloane, we agreed to bury the hatchet. Don't go there with me. My condition does not preclude me from doing what I came here to do."

Sloane leans back in his seat and looks relaxed. "Do you know why I passed you over for the decoder disc mission we just completed?"

"I thought it was just some sort of post-suspension punishment or you didn't want to throw me back into the fire right away."

"I didn't want to throw you into that fire because I don't trust you in the field. You have a medical problem. And you won't tell me, Jack won't tell me, and the CIA won't tell me. You have value in the office, but I don't want you suffering a physical or mental breakdown on a mission that could put the lives of Sydney, Dixon, Vaughn...or the one you love so dearly in jeopardy."

Tom just sits there, stewing for a while. His medical condition is the one thing that he doesn't want to unearth, more so than his Anti-Cartel past. And not only that, but Sloane is threatening to completely dirty up that clean slate that they wiped clean while they stood over a comatose Nadia a few days ago. Sloane may have shook hands with Tom for Nadia, but he's messing with Tom's head for his own damn self. And Tom doesn't like it.

Jack chimes in, trying to be a voice of reason. "Tom, if we knew about what your condition is, we could get you field rated again. It doesn't appear to be anything major..."

That's it. At that point, Tom has had enough of the button pushing. He angrily jumps out of his seat and throws off his suit jacket on the chair next to him. With a backwards thrust, he kicks the chair he was just seated in behind him so it flies into the wall, somehow not smashing into bits.

Sloane and Jack look somewhat astonished at Tom's sudden burst of energy.

Tom then rolls up his right sleeve and holds his arm out, with the outside of the arm facing Sloane and Jack. Now deeply upset, his eyes bulging out and showing intense red veins to contract his dark blue eyes, Tom screams "YOU CALL  _THIS_  NOTHING MAJOR?"

Jack is taken aback a bit by Tom's outburst. Sloane, meanwhile, leans in to look at a long, ghastly looking red scar that appears to start at the tip of Tom's pinkie and runs along the outside of his arm and up beyond his elbow before being cut off by his rolled-up dress shirt sleeve. Inside the ditch that lies within the scar is a dark blood-colored line that goes up and down the scar like a river in a canyon, lying deep along the bottom. As for the walls that make up the scar canyon itself, Tom's skin takes a more pinkish-red appearance. The skin on the edges of the scar is elevated, creating a puffy looking appearance that surrounds the scar.

It's a scar that only suggests one thing: Something horrible happened at some point.

Sloane looks almost mortified. "What happened to you?"

The anger in Tom's eyes subsides. He closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths, both to calm himself as well as fight off a tsunami of memories that come rushing back in. He's exposed himself in the way he never wanted to. Tom soon opens his eyes and looks at Sloane with an extremely somber look on his face, like one of those puppies you see in those animal cruelty videos. In a pained voice, he says "I had a medical procedure performed on me against my will, for reasons I might never know and for reasons I'd probably never understand if I did know. This isn't my only scar I have from this procedure, but it's the only one I will show you."

Tom then quickly rolls down his sleeve and puts his suit jacket on. He turns around and picks up his chair, and checks it for any nicks or damage.

Jack asks Tom as he's setting the chair back up "Why didn't you tell us this before?"

Tom slumps into the chair, feeling weighed down by grief, but it's a lifeless and not a teary grief. "Because the higher-ups in the CIA don't want me to...and because I don't want to, either. All I will say is this: that tracker you had on me yesterday, Jack..." Tom looks over at Jack with those abused puppy eyes. "There was a reason that it only took one punch for me to knock him out. And this procedure was the reason." Tom then straightens himself up and scoots in to the table.

Jack says "That tracker called me late last night. He says he thought he was hit with a hammer, not a fist. He also accepts your apology."

Tom keeps his gaze on the table and ignores Jack's comment. Still pained, he says "I am forever changed because of what was done to me. After it was over, I came back to the world I knew and discovered I had lost just about everything that meant anything to me, including my very purpose in life." Tom hangs his head and fights off the tears. He then looks up at Sloane sincerely. "Do you want to know why I did what I did for Nadia, going to Argentina like I did?"

Sloane give Tom a nod, indicating he's willing to listen.

"Before I came to APO, I was lost. My purpose in life was gone. My wife was gone. I cut bait on the last member of my family right before the procedure happened. I had nothing, Arvin. Nothing but pain in my heart and in my body from what was done to me. Sometimes, I wondered if I even lost my soul. But when I discovered Nadia was working here, I found my heart again, and my soul came back to me. I found my purpose again. I realized that I had been given one last chance to do some good, when I had very little right to even be alive. She's almost all I have left anymore, and I live for her happiness now."

Sloane nods his head, but doesn't say anything as Tom buries his head in his hands.

After some silence Sydney and Nadia return to the table. Nadia looks visibly upset as she takes her seat next to Tom, but it's not over Tom's grief.

Sydney, meanwhile, looks concerned at the scene at the table. "I heard yelling just a little bit ago, is everything ok?"

Tom lifts his head out of his hands and goes back to his dinner, not saying anything, but looking visibly shaken.

Jack says nothing himself, instead mulling over what Tom just showed him and said.

Sloane finally breaks the silence. "No, everything's fine. Is everything ok with you two?"

Sydney looks over at Nadia, who looks offended and hurt by something. After some awkward silence, Sydney just says "Yeah."

What had previously been a nice night had turned out to be an uneasy one, caused by two separate incidents by two separate groups. While Tom was spilling out his soul to Sloane and Jack, Nadia had caught Sydney snooping in Sloane's office, looking for evidence of communication between Sloane and a former Alliance agent. What was supposed to be Nadia's night was nothing but a ruse and Nadia knew it right away.

After some more awkward silence, Tom drops his fork. Still somber, he says "I'm done. Sorry for holding up the cake."

Tom stands up and grabs his plate, but Sydney walks over and grabs the plate. "I'll get this."

Tom shakes his head. "No, I'll take this back. But, you can help me get the cake."

Sydney, picking up on Tom's down mood, says nothing, but just nods her head as she walks to the kitchen with Tom.

In the kitchen, Tom scrapes the rest of the food off of his plate into a wastebasket and sets his dish into the sink. While he's doing that, Sydney pulls Nadia's cake out of the fridge. She sets the sizeable cake on an island table in the middle of the kitchen.

Tom walks over to the cake as Sydney pulls out a box of candles. Both of them are noticeably silent as they start arranging the candles. In fact, it's downright awkward.

Finally, Tom looks up at Sydney and breaks the silence. "Did something happen with you and Nadia?"

Sydney stops arranging candles and looks back at Tom. "Nothing. Did something happen with you, Dad, and Sloane?"

Tom, with an incredulous glare, says "Nothing."

Sydney doesn't buy it, not that Tom sold it all that well. "There has to be a reason that you look like death warmed over out there when we got back."

Tom, still with that incredulous glare, says "And there has to be a reason that Nadia looked like death warmed over when SHE got back. You want to tell me about that, or are we just going to keep playing a game of verbal chicken?"

Sydney says nothing as she goes back to arranging candles. Seeing as he's not going to get an answer, Tom goes back to arranging candles himself.

As he's setting up candles, he decides he needs to at least smooth things over a bit. "Let's try to put up a cheerful face when we walk out with the cake. This is Nadia's night." Sydney doesn't respond to that, and Tom picks up on that. "It IS Nadia's night, right? Or is there something else going on here?"

Sydney stamps down the last candle with quite a bit of authority and looks up at Tom. "You should carry the cake out. After what we just went through, she'd appreciate the gesture from you, and not from me." Sydney then suddenly walks out, leaving Tom wondering just what the hell happened between them.

About a minute or so later, Tom exits the kitchen door and walks out to the dining table, where everyone else is set up. Trying to put on a happy face, Tom starts singing "Happy Birthday". He notices that no one at the table is joining in on the singing, but he struggles through the song anyway. His whistling of "Happy Birthday" at the office before he gave Nadia the program was cheerful and carefree, but his singing of "Happy Birthday" now is the exact opposite: morose and awkward.

He sets the cake in front of Nadia and gives her a kiss on the cheek. "Happy birthday, beautiful."

Nadia looks at Tom and gives him a very faint smile and, like a gerbil getting strangled, squeaks out "Thanks." She turns to the cake and ponders what she's going to wish for. She then looks over at Sydney, still hurt at her betrayal earlier that night.

Suddenly, Nadia turns back to the cake and blows out the candles.

Tom looks out at everyone at the table. "Does anyone want cake?"

No one answers. The tenor of the night has been completely ruined.

Tom starts pulling out the candles. As he does, Nadia finally breaks the silence. "Tom, can I stay at your place tonight?"

Tom looks at her curiously. So does Sloane. And Jack. And Sydney.

Tom asks "Why? What happened..."

Nadia cuts Tom off. "Please, can I stay with you? I want to go."

Tom sighs and looks over at Sydney, hoping to get an idea of what happened. He turns back at Nadia and nods. He accepts that this night has been completely and utterly ruined and it's time to get out of there. "Sure. Let's go."

Sydney stands up quickly, knowing Nadia will be going to her apartment to get clothes for work tomorrow. "I'm leaving too."

Tom and Nadia leave first, followed cautiously by Sydney. Sloane and Jack just sit in the dining room, both left wondering just what the hell happened to what was supposed to be a nice evening.

* * *

_**Sydney's Apartment** _

Nadia storms into Sydney's apartment, anger all over her face as she clumps, clumps, clumps down the stairs that lead towards the kitchen. Tom is right behind her, just trying to keep up with her.

A few steps behind the two is Sydney, who also walks through the front door that Nadia nor Tom bothered closing.

Nadia, still walking with power and purpose, tells to no one in particular "I just have to pick up a few things and we'll be out of here." This is followed by Nadia storming into her bedroom next to the kitchen and sliding her door shut HARD, causing Tom to jump a bit.

Now, Tom and Sydney are standing in the kitchen. Sydney walks over to her usual spot at the sink while Tom remains standing near one of the breakfast bar chairs.

Tom glares at Sydney angrily. "Ok, this is bullshit! What the hell is going on?"

Sydney gives Tom with an angry glare herself. "You tell me why you blew up tonight on Dad and Sloane and I'll tell you what happened with me and Nadia."

Tom feigns surprise and sarcastically says "Oh, so we've progressed from 'Verbal Chicken' to 'Let's Make A Deal' now? Is this what it has come to?"

Sydney sternly tells Tom "You tell me."

Tom shakes his head as he looks down at the breakfast bar, thinking about his next move. Nadia's mood tonight really bothers him, but he also doesn't want to reveal his medical secret if he doesn't have to.

After a moment or two, Tom looks back up at Sydney, apparently making up his mind. "Your Dad and Sloane pressed me about my medical condition. My condition is my secret...and it stays that way. I said more than I _ever_ wanted to say to them, and I'm not repeating a goddamn thing here."

Sydney fires back "Why won't you tell us? What's the big deal?"

Tom snaps back "Because!" Tom restrains himself, clinching his fists as he steps back. "Because I don't want my condition to define who I am. There, that's the story. Now, what the hell is going on with you and Nadia?"

Sydney looks over at Nadia's bedroom, then leans in and starts whispering. "I had to pull some emails from Sloane's computer. He's been talking to a former Alliance agent, and the only way I could get the emails is if I pulled them from Sloane's computer directly."

Tom lets out an offended chuckle. "So this whole birthday party was just a goddamn ruse?"

Sydney quickly whispers back "Calm down!"

Tom shakes his head. "No! I'm disgusted that you would sell out your own sister for a bunch of damn emails! Why the hell did you play me like a fiddle at the office today, too?"

"Because I expected this kind of reaction from you, and because you and Sloane are now on good terms..."

Tom cuts her off quickly. "OH THAT'S RICH!"

"Which part?"

Tom then leans in and starts whispering, since he really doesn't want Nadia hearing this part. "If you think that me and Sloane are suddenly best friends forever, you're delusional. I still hate that man, and tonight, he took all that goodwill me and him created in the hospital and had himself a good piss on it. All me and Sloane agreed to was that I would TRY to work with him instead of being so hostile towards him."

Sydney gives an understanding nod, then folds her arms. "Tom, we had to get those emails. By any means necessary."

Tom turns away and starts pacing. There's logic in what Sydney's saying, but this situation still just sucks for Nadia, therefore it sucks for him. He eventually stops and turns back to Sydney. "And that meant using your own sister, a woman who's been through enough abandonment and betrayal in her life, to get those emails. Nadia was legitimately looking forward to this night. She didn't want to get up for it, but I convinced her that being celebrated is a GOOD thing. She hasn't had much reason to celebrate ANYTHING in her life." Tom walks and stands about an inch from Sydney's face. His voice has now turned sinister. He growls "And yet, you take a dagger and you drive it right into her freaking back!"

As he says that, Nadia busts out of her bedroom holding a piece of luggage. Focused on just leaving and not paying any attention to Sydney and Tom's argument, she tells Tom "Let's go."

Tom stands back and looks back at Sydney with a disgusted look. "For someone who hates the man so much, what you did tonight sounds like something Sloane would do. He has no problem exploiting his family, and apparently neither do you. You really surprised me tonight. Now I have to wonder if you're as two-faced as he is."

Sydney says nothing, but has an offended and upset look on her face as Tom turns and follows Nadia out of the apartment.

* * *

_**Tom's car, somewhere in Los Angeles** _

Tom pulls off of the freeway. He looks over at Nadia, who has not spoken since they left Sydney's. Both are very angry and even more hurt over what's happened to both of them tonight.

Tom meant what he said to Jack and Sloane when he says he lives for Nadia's happiness, and that means that it's up to him to pull Nadia from the spiritual abyss. Or at least make the effort. He reaches over and gently grabs Nadia's hand. "Sydney told me what happened. I'm so sorry."

Nadia, who was watching out the window, turns back over to Tom with a hurt look. "Why would she do this to me? Why?"

Tom turns his attention back to the road. "She appears to be willing to do anything to bury Sloane. I just didn't expect her to exploit you."

Nadia shifts in her seat a bit. "And the night was going so well, too."

Tom nods his head. "I know. This was YOUR night."

"Did Sydney tell you what she was going to do tonight?" 

"Nope. Sydney did not tell me a damn thing about what she was doing beforehand. Apparently, she thinks that I would have ratted her out to you."

"Would you have?"

Tom thinks for a moment about how he's going to word this. "Yeah. I still have my suspicions about Sloane, but to ruin your night over it was uncalled for. You've been through enough in your life, you don't deserve to have a rare moment of celebration ruined on the account of work."

Nadia smiles and rubs Tom's hand. "Thank you for having my back. You're now the only certain thing I have in my life. I can  _always_  count on you to have my back. I thought I could say the same about Sydney, but..." Nadia just leaves that sentence unfinished as Tom pulls up to his parking spot in front of his apartment.

Tom looks back over at Nadia with a smile. "You have a nice looking back, so I'm happy to look out for it." Tom then winks, which causes a slight chuckle from Nadia. Sometimes, being a dork works to turn around a dismal situation.

* * *

_**Tom's Apartment** _

Tom and Nadia stand at the front door of his 2nd floor apartment in what looks like an average apartment complex. There's really nothing special about this place. It's not ghetto, it's not swanky. It's just...there.

Tom inserts his key, then looks at Nadia. "I'm going to warn you, my place isn't nearly as fancy as Sydney's."

Nadia, holding her luggage, just shrugs. "I'm sure it's fine."

Tom turns back to the door. "Well, you'll class up the place a little, at least."

Nadia gives Tom a little smirk. Tom's trying his best to lift her spirits, and despite her spirits being awfully weighted down tonight, it's sort of working.

Tom unlocks the door and opens up and lets Nadia walk in. Immediately, Nadia notices the average-ness of the place. White walls. No pictures. Basic 1-bedroom layout, with the bedroom off to the right, a bathroom on the back wall side, a small kitchen on the back-left corner of the apartment, and the rest of the space being devoted to living room space, with what looks like a used couch and used recliner and a TV that is so used, 1995 probably wants it back.

Tom closes the door behind Nadia. "Welcome to the palatial estate of Casa de Falk!"

Nadia, for the first time in a while, giggles a bit. "I've been in worse..."

Tom chuckles, relieved that Nadia still has some humor in her in spite of tonight's events. Tom stands next to Nadia and says "You can go ahead and take a shower if you like. I'll let you take the bed, and I'll get the couch."

Nadia looks at Tom a bit quizzically at that last part, but doesn't say anything. Why would he even say that? They're in love with one another, and are certainly more than comfortable being affectionate with one another when the opportunities present themselves. But, she decides to hold her tongue for now. She gets the sense that, even though he's trying to be of good cheer, his psyche is a bit fragile for some reason tonight. 

"Everything alright?"

With a bit of a jump, Nadia snaps out of her thousand-yard stare at the ground and she sheepishly smiles at Tom. "I'm getting there. Thank you for letting me stay here tonight. I hope I'm not too much of a burden..."

Tom puts his hands on Nadia's shoulders, a bit shocked at that last comment. "You're never a burden for me. Mi casa es su casa, hermosa. (My house is your house, beautiful.)"

Nadia leans in and gives Tom a kiss. She releases the kiss and softly tells him "Gracias, guapo. (Thank you, handsome.)" She then walks into the bathroom, presumably to take a shower.

* * *

_**Tom's apartment, about an hour later.** _

Tom walks out of the bathroom, in his USA soccer long-sleeve shirt that he wore the other night and shorts. There's strategic reasons for wearing this shirt: to recall a great night he and Nadia shared, and to hide that damn scar that he foolishly (in his mind) revealed to Jack and Sloane.

He spots Nadia sitting on the couch, wearing one of his bathrobes, watching some old Western on TV. She was relieved Tom had a blow dryer. Tom asks her "Anything good on?"

Nadia shakes her head. "Not at this time of night, apparently."

Tom stands behind Nadia and again, puts his hands on her shoulders. He leans in and asks "Can I get you anything?"

Nadia shakes her head again as she turns off the TV. "No, I'm going to go to bed. It's been a long day."

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

As Nadia stands up, she sees Tom turn and walk over to a closet. He reaches in and pulls out a pillow and a light blanket and tosses them on the couch. As he does, he almost seems...guilty over something. Nadia can see right through that guilt, and realizes that Tom's afraid to sleep next to her for some reason.

No. This will not do for Nadia.

As he turns and closes the closet, Nadia walks up to him and grabs his arm. She insistently demands "Tom, I want you to sleep next to me tonight."

Tom looks at Nadia and shakes his head dismissively. "Nah, I'm good with the couch..."

"What are you afraid of?" Nadia asks with genuine concern. 

Tom looks down. Now, he's downright timid. "I...don't want you to think that I'm going to take advantage of you or anything. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable. I respect you too much."

Nadia grabs Tom's other arm and stands close to him, looking up at his eyes in a comforting way. "Please, I'd feel much more comfortable knowing you were by my side. Something about being next to you is so comforting to me."

Tom's mood lifts, realizing Nadia didn't think that he was going to take advantage of her at all "Ok. If you want me to be by your side, then I'll be by your side. I almost feel ashamed for making you ask..."

Nadia holds a finger up to Tom's mouth. "It's ok. I understand where you were coming from. You're a good man." 

Tom smiles, then leans in and gives Nadia a kiss, and walks with her to the bedroom, which is equally as unspecial as the living room: Queen bed off to the left, dresser by the door, closet on the other side.

Tom leaves on his long-sleeve shirt and shorts as he enters the bed on the far side, leaving the near side to Nadia. 

Nadia, meanwhile, takes notice that Tom left his shirt on and finds that awfully curious. She wonders as she takes off her bathrobe to reveal an old hockey t-shirt and shorts.

Tom recognizes them immediately and looks surprised. "I thought you brought your own clothes! Why are you wearing mine?"

Nadia, a little unsurely, says "I forgot my nightgown! I hope you don't mind."

Tom leans on his hand, rather enjoying this actually. "Actually, you look good in my clothes. I hope you do realize that is a hockey t-shirt you're wearing though..."

Nadia looks down at the shirt, which has a large St. Louis Blues logo emblazoned on it. "Really? I just thought it looked neat."

"I thought you chose it because blue is your color."

Nadia looks back up at Tom with a smile. "You think so, too?"

Tom chuckles as he shifts his weight to rest his head on the pillow. "I'm surprised there was any doubt."

Nadia laughs, then turns off the lights and joins him in bed, with Tom turning down the covers for her.

Tom smiles at Nadia as he pulls up the covers back up. "You know, it's going to be comforting to having you by my side, too. This was a good idea."

Nadia giggles back, then says "Thank you for agreeing with me!" Nadia scoots towards Tom a little so she can wrap her right arm around him. "You keep your apartment so cold! Thank goodness you're warm!"

Tom then touches Nadia's face lightly with his left hand. He looks deeply into her eyes. "I'm so happy you're smiling again."

Nadia looks over lightly brushes Tom's arm. "Tom, I'm beginning to realize I'm lucky to have you. You told me when I woke up in the hospital that I do so much that amazes you. Am I really that amazing, just being myself?"

"You're asking a man who made a round-trip to and from Argentina in 36 hours for a gift on your probably-not-birthday if he actually believes that you're amazing?"

Nadia lets out a small laugh. "I really can't believe you did that for me. I just don't see what I did to earn the devotion to you give me." 

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Because I feel you'd do anything for me. Because of how you look at me, how you love me!"

"Bingo. That's how I feel about you, Nadia. I felt it back in Argentina in 2001, when you saved my damn life! Nadia, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Nadia looks touched at first, but then shakes her head. "My own sister thought so little of me, she set me up to get my heart broken just so she can get information from my father's computer!"

Tom sighs. "I know. And I'm sorry with how things went tonight. I wanted nothing more than to see you happy."

Nadia sighs herself. "Maybe things will make more sense after we get some sleep." Nadia looks back up at Tom. "I'm so happy we found each other." She then grabs the back of his head and pulls herself up for a kiss. When she's done, she stares deeply into his dark blue eyes. "I love you, Tom."

Tom then smiles, lightly touches the side of Nadia's face again, and, looking deeply back in Nadia's brown eyes, gives her a kiss of his own on the lips. After he's done, he says "I love you, Nadia."

Tom then slides his right arm under Nadia and wraps her up in his arms.

Nadia does the exact same thing, and they squeeze in closer to one another. Tom gives Nadia another smile, which is returned in kind by Nadia. "You're pretty warm yourself, Nadia!"

Nadia giggles a little, but doesn't say anything. In fact, for the next minute, neither one of them do much of anything outside of lightly caressing one another. Every now and then, one will kiss the other, perhaps testing the other to see if they want to escalate things further. But then, the long looks of longing resume.

This is their first chance to cuddle with one another, and both are simply content holding the other in his or her arms. After such an emotional night for them both, nothing is more comforting to the both of them right now than to simply hold each other. They both realize, for different reasons, that this is just not the right time to escalate things romantically. Not that either don't want that to happen at some point, but tonight's just not the right time.

For Nadia, it's because she's still weighed down a bit by what Sydney did at her birthday party tonight. She's still fairly hurt over that. Not only that, but she appreciated Tom being a gentleman when he said he didn't want to take advantage of her. She realizes that she should respect, well, Tom's respect for her.

And Tom meant it. Tom knows Nadia wanted to come over for a safe and calm place to lay her head down, not for romance. But there's another reason he doesn't want to get romantic tonight. Tom knows that they will not want to be fully clothed for when they get romantic, which means Tom has to take his shirt of, which means that Tom will have to show Nadia the scar on his arm, and which means that Tom will have to show her more than just that scar. No, no, and no. Tom doesn't know what it will take for this to ever happen, but he doesn't care about that right now. All he cares about...is looking deeply into Nadia's eyes and cuddling with her. 

Finally, at the same moment, they both lean in to kiss the other, then both pulls back and say "Goodnight" to each other at the same time. This causes Tom and Nadia to laugh at the silliness of their timing. They both suddenly realize that both of their spirits have been elevated from the dumps they were in earlier in the night.

More importantly, they both realize just how good they are for one another. Tom already realized that to some degree, but this just reinforces it. Nadia, on the other hand, thinks about going back to Sydney's and sleeping alone. By herself. It's something she's been able to do all her life with little trouble, but the prospect of not being in the same bed with Tom saddens her a bit. She's truly loving just being next to him, knowing how deeply he cares for her, and knowing how much she deeply cares for him. She's sought this all her life, and now she's got it!

The two would close their eyes and go to sleep, still holding one another.

* * *

_**Tom's apartment, the next morning** _

Outside of Nadia having to get up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water, the both of them slept like absolute babies.

Nadia realized that Tom is a pretty deep sleeper, having had to finesse her way out of her arms in order to get out of bed. But maybe he's not that deep of a sleeper, because by the time she got back, Tom flipped over to his other side!

Nadia slipped back into bed after setting her glass on the endtable. She still scooted close to Tom and wrapped her right arm back around him, but noticed something amiss when she did. She draped her right arm over Tom's right arm, which is partly exposed. Somehow the sleeve rolled up a little on Tom from having it under Nadia for a while. 

She couldn't see just what exactly was amiss because the room was dark, and was too tired and half-asleep to really investigate it at that point.

But it would be Nadia that woke up first, and with the sun shining into the bedroom, she saw exactly what was amiss.

That damn scar.

The scar that runs up from his pinkie with the dark-red river throwing through the deep, pinkish-red canyon. Any grogginess that Nadia had when she woke up disappeared in a hurry. Now, she's troubled. She has to investigate this.

Seeing Tom still deeply asleep, she slowly pulls up Tom's sleeve. Little by little, more and more of this horrific looking scar is exposed.

And more by more, Nadia's heart sinks. She can't even begin to imagine what happened to Tom to get this scar. 

Without stirring him awake, she's able to reach his shoulder. She sees the scar run up past his elbow and to the shoulder. Nadia doesn't remember Tom having this scar in Argentina years ago. 

Then it hits her. This is the health issue! This must be the health issue that keeps Tom from being a full agent! But...what exactly  _is_ the issue? Is it just the arm? Is it more than that? 

Nadia starts lightly running her fingers along the scar, but has to immediately stop when Tom starts to stir. The scar must be sensitive to him, but not sensitive enough to wake him.

Nadia sits up and looks at Tom for a while. She feels so horrible for him, her heart literally aches. It's not repulsion she's feeling, but downright sadness. She just wants to hold him right now, but with Tom stirring just now, she doesn't want to wake him. 

But...she can do something nice for him. She peeked in his fridge last night and saw he had some sausage, and that sounds good this morning! So putting the covers back on Tom, Nadia gets out of bed to go get ready for breakfast.

About 20 minutes or so later, Tom's nose twitches a bit. He smells something...tasty. This causes Tom to wake up and roll over to face Nadia, only to find Nadia isn't there with him.

Outside the bedroom, he hears the sound of something sizzling.

Oh Nadia...

A groggy Tom sits on the edge of his bed and notices something immediately that horrifies him. His right arm sleeve is rolled all the way up to his shoulder! He quickly rolls the sleeve back down and just hopes that Nadia didn't see his scar. Because his scar means he'll have to tell her...

Tom shakes his head and walks out of the bedroom. He immediately notices Nadia standing over the stove, still in Tom's old clothes and flipping some sausage patties while humming a song of some sort.

Eventually, Nadia spots Tom standing outside the bedroom door. With a big smile, she says "Good morning!"

Tom scans over to the sausage. With a small, groggy smile, he says "Morning...I see you found my Jimmy Deans."

Nadia goes back to cooking, still smiling away. "I just wanted to make us breakfast before we go to work today. I have coffee brewing and biscuits in the oven."

Tom just chuckles a bit as he walks up to Nadia and kisses the back of her neck, followed by a gentle shoulder massage. "You do too much. I usually don't eat breakfast on workdays."

Nadia looks back at Tom a bit surprised. "Really? Ugh, I can't function if I don't have breakfast!"

Tom curiously asks "How long have you been up?" In truth, he's probing for information. He wants to know if his secret it out.

"Oh, half an hour or so. I didn't want to wake you."

Tom nods, satisfied that Nadia doesn't know anything yet. He then recalls how they held one another before they fell asleep last night and, with a smile over that memory, decides its time to take their relationship to the next step. He then walks over to a drawer to the left of Nadia. "I have another birthday gift for you."

Nadia takes her attention away from cooking breakfast and looks at Tom curiously and with some concern. "Tom, you've done so much already..."

Tom opens up the drawer and pulls out a key. He hands it to Nadia. "I meant it when I said my house is your house last night. You don't have to ask if you want to stay the night, or for the day, or whatever. You're always welcome here anytime. I love having you over."

Nadia gives Tom a touched smile as she takes the key and looks at it. "Thank you. I love being here with you, too." Nadia then looks up at Tom with a giddy smile. "There was a time in my life where I didn't have a home. And now, I have two!"

Tom laughs and gives Nadia a hug. "I love you, beautiful."

Nadia gives Tom a peck on the cheek, says "I love you too, handsome". She then pulls herself away from Tom and goes back to cooking.

Tom wanders off to the living room and turns on the TV. Nadia looks over at him with a look of trepidation as he sits down on the couch.

Having grown quiet suddenly, Tom looks at Nadia and notices the worried expression she's giving him. He asks "What is it?"

Nadia looks down at the floor. "Tom, I'm afraid to ask you this, because I know you don't want to talk about it..."

Oh no. Oh no, no, no, no, no. Tom suspects _immediately_ what this is going to be about. Still, he can't show any fear, even if he did just now. He composes himself and asks "Nadia, what is it? It's ok, you can ask me anything." He just hopes she doesn't ask about  _that_.

Nadia looks up at Tom, still worried. "Tom, this morning, when we were in bed, I saw your scar on your right arm." Tom solemnly closes his eyes and hangs his head as Nadia continues. "I saw it run all the way up to your shoulder."

Tom's face somehow grows even more despondent. In fact, he's downright afraid. "Nadia, I wish you hadn't seen that."

Nadia picks up on Tom's fear immediately. "I was horrified when I saw it! It looks so terrible! What happened?"

Tom, still looking at the ground, opens his eyes briefly, then closes them again tightly. He knew he'd have to cross this bridge eventually. Just not now, not with the two falling deeper into love with each other. "Nadia, please don't...don't make me do this."

Now Nadia is extremely worried. She scrambles over and sits next to him on the couch. "Tom, what's wrong?" She puts her arm around Tom and feels him shaking.

Tom shakes his head quickly. "I can't tell you. Not yet, anyway."

Nadia nods quickly and pats Tom on the back. "I'm sorry, you don't have to say anything, I shouldn't have pried." She then gets up and goes back into the kitchen. She leans over the stove for a moment, lets out a deep sigh for hurting Tom just now like she did, and turns off the burner.

Tom looks up at her with remorse on her face. "No, it's ok."

Nadia shakes her head as she takes the biscuits out of the oven. She sets them on the counter, then looks at Tom ashamed. "No, it's not. I shouldn't have pushed the issue."

Tom takes a deep breath. Nadia was just concerned for him, that's all. At this point, he feels he owes her something. "All I will say is that those scars are a result of a very invasive experiment conducted on me in 2003. I was not a willing participant. And yes, it was very painful."

Nadia puts her hand over her mouth. She suspected something like this, but it still horrifies her hearing it from Tom's mouth. "Tom, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I can't imagine..."

Tom waves his hand dismissively. "Nadia, the actual experiment isn't what bothers me. It's what I lost as a result that hurts me on a daily basis." Tom leans back on the couch, apparently finished with what he has to say.

Nadia can't help but notice that this issue appears to be eating him up inside, even though she didn't get the full story. But her heart aches for him as well, and deep inside, she wishes she could take some of whatever pain he went through away from him and take some of it for herself so he didn't have to carry all that hurt. Looking to move on from all of this, though, Nadia tells Tom "Breakfast is ready. Come and eat."

Tom slowly gets to his feet and walks into the kitchen. He pours a cup of coffee and grabs a plate that Nadia had set up with sausage and biscuits. He doesn't say anything, but appears to be deeply consumed with thought.

As he prepares his plate, Nadia sees another chance to change the issue. "I've been thinking about what happened at my party last night."

Tom looks at her with a somewhat irritated look. "I still can't believe what Sydney did to you..."

Nadia quickly replies "Tom, I can. And I don't think she purposely wanted to crash the party. I was lucky to even have discovered her."

Tom shakes his head. "I would never exploit you like that. What she did was downright cruel."

Nadia looks down at the sink. "I know you wouldn't. But, even though I want to love my father, I still have my suspicions about him, too. I still don't really know him, but Sydney does. He's been in her life for so long...maybe she was right to do what she did."

Tom walks to the living room and sits down at the couch. He's digesting Nadia's apparent turn of feelings. "I don't know..." He then takes a bite of a piece of sausage and looks up at Nadia, who's still in the kitchen. "Hell, you may be right."

Nadia looks at him a bit surprised to see him backing down. "Are you sure?"

Tom nods his head quickly. "Sydney is not a malicious person. It's not in her nature. But, there is a reality about what we do for a living that we just have to accept. And now that I think about it, too...I don't think her heart was in the wrong place."

Nadia takes a seat next to Tom on the couch and sets her coffee down on the coffee table in front of them next to Tom's. "When we get to work, we should talk to her. I think we both might have over-reacted."

Tom looks at her and smiles. "You and your temper..."

Nadia laughs and smacks Tom on the arm. "MY temper? Look who's talking!"

Tom just laughs as he goes back to his breakfast. Levity returned to Casa de Falk, and the good breakfast would successfully lift both of their spirits.

* * *

_**APO Office** _

Tom and Nadia approach Sydney's desk together.

Sydney looks up quickly and sees them both standing there. She can't help but be a little worried about the conversation is to come. "Hey guys..."

Nadia starts off seriously. "Sydney, we need to talk about last night."

"I did what I had to do..."

Tom cuts her off quickly and intently. "I know."

Sydney looks at Tom a little surprised.

Tom responds to that look. "Such a ruse  _was_  probably the only way you could have gotten the information. We just wish we could have been informed on what was going on."

Sydney nods, realizing she erred by not being up front with them. "I'm really sorry. I really didn't mean to spoil your night, Nadia. I really did want you to enjoy yourself, but I didn't want you worrying about what I was doing."

"It's ok." Nadia says with complete understanding. "And we both realize that our behavior last night was a little over the top. We both let emotions get in the way of reason."

Tom picks up from there. "I'm sorry about anything I said in your apartment last night..."

"...and I'm sorry for having an attitude." Nadia finishes.

Sydney smiles. "I think all three of us have some blame to go around. I should have told you two. I'm sorry."

A smirk forms back on Tom's face. He extends his hand for a handshake. "No harm, no foul. Let's put this issue to bed, ok?"

Sydney smiles again and shakes Tom's hand. "Deal!" She then turns back to Nadia. "So, are you going to be staying with Tom from now on?"

Tom looks over at Nadia rather hopefully. He LOVED having her over last night.

Nadia opens her mouth to say something, but is cut off by Jack Bristow coming up from behind. "Tom...Nadia...I need a word with you two immediately."

Tom and Nadia look back at Jack a little worried, then back at each other. Eventually, they follow Jack to his office.

Tom and Nadia sit in front of Jack's desk while Jack takes a seat behind the desk.

As Jack sits down, Tom says "If this is about last night, we were just clearing the air with Sydney. We understand..."

Jack cuts him off. "That's fine, but this is not about that."

"And I'm sorry for my actions..."

Jack holds up a hand. "That's fine, whatever. Something else has come up."

Tom and Nadia look at each other a bit worried.

"Nadia, after your stint in the hospital recently, the doctors found some...anomalies in your blood."

Nadia suddenly leans forward surprised. "What? What did they find?"

"Two things. One, they found something in your bloodstream that doctors THINK are endorphins, but the doctors don't know what their function is. They do think they are naturally created by your body."

Tom asks "What else did they find?"

Jack looks at Tom, then leans forward and looks at Nadia. "This part is why I'm telling you this right here and now, and not with Sloane present. They also found an unknown substance in your bloodstream, Nadia. The only thing that is certain with this substance is that it interacts with your pheromones in some way."

Nadia folds her arms. "So, why is my father not being made aware of this?"

"Because, that second anomaly is not something that is naturally created by your body, like the supposed endorphins. It had to have found its way into your blood stream somehow. There's a theory that this is something that might be Rambaldi-related."

Nadia's jaw drops a bit.

Tom's does too and he asks "How can they guess that?"

Jack looks at Tom. "A long time ago, the CIA was in pursuit of something called 'The Connection'. At the time, we didn't know what it was. At first, we thought it was something that connected two particular artifacts together. We got close to retrieving it, but we were beaten to the punch by Elena Derevko, Irina's sister. But, the agent that saw it before it was grabbed saw two small vials of clear fluid in a briefcase. That answered the question of WHAT it was, but we still didn't know the fluid's purpose."

Tom sees where this is going. "So, you think that, what Nadia has in her bloodstream, is 'The Connection'?"

Jack snaps back "It's just a theory at this point, but it's the only theory that makes sense. The anomalies aren't natural, and are not regenerated by her body."

Tom leans back in his chair. "So, why am I here?"

"Because of what I'm about to tell you. CIA doctors couldn't get a clear definition on what these anomalies are, but when we ran these substances into our database, a match came up. These substances were previously found in another person that was currently employed by the CIA."

Tom's eyes widen and his jaw drops again. He starts shaking his head slowly. "No..."

Jack nods his head slowly. "I'm afraid these anomalies have also appeared in your bloodstream ever since you joined the CIA in 1991."

Tom looks at Nadia with a look of disbelief, and that look is returned by an equally disbelieving look of her own. Tom then sinks into his chair. "I...wha..." So many thoughts and questions are going through his mind now, but none bigger than three of them: How? When? Why? Finally, he settles on a different one altogether. "Why wasn't I ever informed of this?"

"Because the CIA thought they might have been false positives or something benign in your system. There wasn't even the faintest possibility that they were Rambaldi-related. By the way, there's also something else you two should know."

Nadia and Tom both lean forward, waiting for the answer eagerly.

"Tom, the substance that interacts with your pheromones...the CIA discovered after your mission with Nadia in 2001, that this substance had been active lately. Something triggered it into action."

Tom slaps his head. "Of course!" Jack and Nadia both look at him quizzically. Tom asks Jack "You say this thing interacts with my pheromones, right?" 

Jack simply nods.

Tom then looks over at Nadia. "Remember when we first met, in the cantina?" Nadia nods, then Tom continues. "When I first laid eyes on you, I thought I had been drugged! Something happened to me on the inside that did not feel natural. Nadia, you've told me before that you felt the same way!"

Nadia, still surprised at this development, sudden realizes something. "You think that  _we're_  'The Connection'?"

Tom looks back at Jack, unsure what to say.

Jack thinks for a bit and says "It would make sense. It also would appear that this substance is still working, since they noticed it was active in Nadia's blood at the hospital recently. We can't verify any recent activity with you, Tom, because you haven't had a physical since you started here. I'd like for you to have one done as soon as possible."

Tom nods, then shakes his head, realizing something. "Jack, I'm not a part of this prophecy, why would Rambaldi care about me falling in love with Nadia?"

Jack leans forward. "Tom, up until a year ago, we didn't even know Nadia existed. As time goes on, we've been finding more and more details about his prophecy that we couldn't even have fathomed. I have to think that, maybe, you're a part of this somehow."

Tom slinks back in his chair. He's absolutely stunned at this development. He looks over at Nadia, and wonders if their love is really real, or something else...

**END OF CHAPTER**

* * *

_Story Note: Even though Jack, Sydney, Nadia, and Tom have made peace after last night, Sloane is still not convinced that Tom can be trusted in the field. Behind his back, Sloane secretly orders that Tom be withheld from any field assignments until more about his condition is revealed. And seeing how he's not going to get it from Tom, he runs his request up the channels in the CIA. Therefore, for the rest of Episode 10 and all of Episode 11, Tom is held back at APO, working on other things. As always, assume that everything else that happened in those episodes happened._

_But Sloane would get his answers soon enough._


	9. The Orphan And The Devil

_Timeframe of chapter: Season 4, Episode 12_

* * *

_Note: Expect a far bit of divergence of how this episode actually played out.  
_

* * *

_**APO Office** _

Sloane and Jack have called a meeting, and some team members start pouring into the conference room.

Nadia, looking like something is weighing on her mind quite a bit, stands up from her desk and walks by Tom's desk to attend the meeting.

Tom looks concerned. It wasn't barely a week ago when the two shared a bed together and even started talking about living together. The decided it was still a bit early for that, but Nadia stated she wants to stay over at Tom's more often, which he was more than happy to accept. But Nadia has yet to actually take him up on that offer. In fact, she folded like a clam to him shortly after for reasons that he can't really comprehend. It's not just to Tom, though. Nadia's been shutting out Sydney as well. Something is bugging her, and it's got Tom worried. 

As he's watching Nadia walk away, Tom spots Sydney walking towards the room. Immediately, Tom stands up and flags Sydney down. "Hey, you have a second?"

Sydney stops and walks over Tom's desk. "What's up?" The tone Sydney takes seems to indicate she knows what Tom's going to ask her.

Tom looks back at Nadia as she walks into the conference room, then back at Sydney. "Does Nadia seem alright to you? I was wondering if you've picked up on anything the past couple of days, since she's staying with you again. She's been in a shell and it's got me concerned."

Sydney lets out a sigh and looks over at Nadia, who's getting some notes together at the conference table. "She went for a long run this morning. That's always a tell-tale sign that something is up."

"Nadia always works hard to stay in shape."

Sydney shakes her head. "She was gone for a while. When something is bothering me, I always go on a long run. I saw her get an assignment from Sloane a few days ago and that's when she started being distant, so it's probably related to that. She won't tell me what it is, though. It's like she's frightened to say anything."

Tom gives an understanding nod. "Probably a ghost from her past. She's trying to pass it off on me as nothing's going on, but her silence towards me has been deafening."

"It's bothering me, too. Anyway, let's go to this meeting, they're probably waiting on us."

* * *

_**APO Conference Room** _

_(Note: In the interest of moving things along, I'll truncate this scene a bit. It stays pretty much true to form to the actual episode up to a point)_

Marshall explains the Institute of Science's amplifying glass to the team and why it's so important for APO to recover.

When he's done, Jack informs everyone "We've received intel that the Jakarta Faction wants the lens and they've employed this man to acquire it for them." Jack displays a picture of a Latino man on a yellow cell phone on a screen.

Sloane says "His name is Cesar Martinez, he's an Argentine resident."

Nadia turns away with that troubled look she had earlier. Tom and Sydney take notice, but don't say anything. But, they do look at each other and both appear to have finally solved Nadia's riddle in recent days.

"A few days ago, I tasked Nadia with working up a profile on him."

At this point, Nadia explains just who this man is. Basically, a gangster who is stepping up his game on a global level.

When she's done, Dixon asks "When is Martinez planning on making a move?"

Before Nadia can answer, Sloane says "Signal intercepts indicate that he's developing a team...three days, a week at the most."

Jack picks up from there. "The Institute of Science is dedicating a new wing to it's research facility in Minsk tomorrow night."

Tom nods and smirks. "If we wanted to beat Martinez to the punch on this thing, tomorrow night would be the time to do it."

Sloane quickly replies "Exactly. Nadia, you're going to intercept the glass at the dedication tomorrow night. I'm sending you with Vaughn for support. Your cover will be that you both with Daily Dose of Science, an online science blog. Nadia, you will be the reporter, and Vaughn will be your photographer. He's also going to play the role of your husband, since your invites have the same last name."

Nadia shakes her head and then looks over at Tom. "No offense, Vaughn, but I'd rather go on this mission with Tom in support."

Vaughn nods his head. "I agree. If it's just two people, Tom and Nadia have a shorthand with one another and have worked well together in the past. Given that the photographer is supposed to be romantic with Nadia, it only makes sense that Tom be her sidekick."

Tom gives Vaughn a cocky glare. "You had to call me a sidekick there."

"Tom, if Nadia's anything like Sydney, just learn to go with it." Vaughn advises with a smirk of his own. This causes a quiet giggle from Sydney, but not much of a response from Nadia, who's still mentally pre-occupied.

An irritated Sloane looks over at Tom, then scans the table. Dixon gives Sloane a headnod, agreeing with Vaughn. Sloane glances at Jack, who reluctantly nods.

Sloane then gives Tom a lengthy glare, one that has Tom a little confused. If Sloane were capable, he'd be staring a hole through Tom's eyes right now.

Finally, it's Jack who breaks the awkward moment. "Sloane?"

Sloane looks at Jack quickly, then back at Tom. "Fine. Tom, you will be out in support with Nadia. Talk to Marshall about the equipment you'll be using." Sloane looks back out at the rest of the team. "Anyone else have any questions...or suggestions?"

The rest of the team just sits there, not saying anything.

Sloane then glumly says "Meeting adjourned."

Everyone leaves the room, with Tom making it a point to walk out with Marshall.

Sloane notices Nadia just sitting there. He walks up to her cautiously. "What's troubling you?"

Nadia shakes her head and looks down at the table. "Don't worry about it."

Sloane then takes a seat next to her. In a comforting voice (for him, anyway), he says "It's ok, you can tell me anything."

Nadia thinks for a bit. This whole thing with Cesar Martinez has her troubled. She knows Cesar. She was _close_ to Cesar. Being able to get out the details on Cesar during the meeting should have helped, but it didn't. That's because something else also has been vexing her, and this is something she can address. She looks back up at Sloane with a concerned look. "Tom told me a week ago that you pushed him on his health issue...this right after you two promised to make peace. And now, I saw this look of contempt in your eyes when you made Tom my partner for this mission. Dad, what is going on with you two?"

Sloane tries to play it off dismissively. "We've agreed to work with each other without malice. I've had no problem with his conduct lately."

Nadia sees right through it and shakes her head. "No, Tom's not the issue here at all. He's told me he's trying to keep a working relationship with you and I'm glad he's making the effort. But I've noticed you've been holding Tom back for some reason, and when I brought him up for this mission..."

"I still have my doubts about his long-term viability here." Sloane says, cutting her off.

This makes Nadia upset. "What are you talking about? He's been working hard here in the office, he's been valuable..."

Sloane shakes his head. "It's not that. Are you aware the scar that runs up his right arm?"

Nadia nods. "Yeah, it's horrible."

"Has he told you anything about it?"

Nadia pauses for a moment. Tom's downright afraid to say anything about his scar, but he did tell her when she confronted him on it the night she stayed over that they were a part of an invasive and painful experiment that appears to have affected Tom in ways beyond just simple pain. However, Nadia knows he wouldn't appreciate it if she spilled the beans on his feelings on that, so she keeps what she knows to herself. "I can't get Tom to open up to me about it. I tried, but he shot me down rather quickly." 

Sloane leans forward. "If he won't tell you, then that says a lot about whatever it is he's going through. Nadia, I don't like my staff keeping secrets from me. I feel I know you, I know Sydney, I know Vaughn, Dixon, and I think I know enough about Jack. But Tom is purposely hiding a secret from me, a secret that, for all I know, puts everyone here at risk if he's out in the field."

Nadia stands up. "Dad, he's not a risk. Listen, I'll look out for him when we're in Minsk."

Sloane stands up as well. "Nadia, don't make him an unnecessary burden."

Nadia shakes her head and now looks irritated. "He's more necessary to me than you'll ever know."

Sloane, now surprised, asks "What's that supposed to mean?"

A defiant Nadia says "Let's just say me and Tom share...an unbreakable connection. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready for the mission." Nadia then storms out of the office, leaving Sloane to ponder what she meant by an 'unbreakable connection'.

* * *

_**Marshall's office** _

Marshall walks quickly into his office, followed in kind by Tom.

Marshall holds up an SLR camera. "Are you familiar with this?"

Tom shrugs. "It's a camera. You point, zoom, take pictures. I know how to use one of these."

Marshall laughs. "Aha! It does all that pluuuus..." Marshall shows Tom a special switch on front. "...you flip this switch, and you'll be able to point this at the architect, and find the PDA in his pocket."

Tom nods his head and looks impressed. "I see. So, is Nadia going to have to pickpocket this guy or what?"

Marshall waves his finger in Tom's face, which Tom just looks at suspiciously. "Ah, ah, ah! Old tricks are the best tricks, says the Flinkmaster!"

Tom just looks at him blankly. He doesn't speak Dorkish.

Marshall walks over and holds up a black cartridge. "Remember this from the Monte Carlo mission?"

Tom smirks. "You mean the Miracle in Monte Carlo? She had to siphon data off a phone while being up close to the guy."

Marshall laughs. "Yes! Well, Nadia will have this once again. She'll just need to get close...like REAL close to the architect and she'll be able to siphon off any data on the PDA. I've added a wi-fi transmitter on it that will send everything back to me. He's a real control freak, so he keeps anything and everything important to him on him...blueprints, technical layouts, you name it, so what you'll need WILL be on there."

Tom nods his head as he grabs the cartridge. "Sounds good to me. We all set here?"

Marshall then clasps his hands together at the waist. "Unless you have any more questions about how the camera works, which you, well, seem to be pretty good there."

Tom looks at the camera, then looks back at Marshall. He thinks back to day 1 at APO, when he told Marshall he would appreciate his perspective on things from time to time. Now would be a good time for some Flinkmann perspective, he thinks. "Actually, there is something that you might be able to help me with. It regards Sloane."

Marshall fidgets a bit, an obvious tell that he's hiding something. "Uh...what...would...I know about him? The man is, like, THE most mysterious man I've ever met!"

"Yeah, he's just full of secrets. But, I've noticed as of late that he's been almost purposely holding me back from missions. And you saw his reaction when Nadia suggested I accompany her for the mission. Is there something going on with him and me that I should know about?"

Marshall doesn't immediately answer and Tom picks up on that right away. Tom starts walking up to Marshall slowly, which causes Marshall's eyes to dart to the floor.

When he gets to Marshall, Tom squats down so he can look at Marshall in the eyes. "Marshall? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Marshall looks out at the floor and doesn't see Sloane anywhere. He looks back at Tom, who's back to a standing position. "Ok, ok! But...I'm only saying this because you helped carry in my new HDTV a few days ago...which I really did appreciate, by the way! I'm not NEAR strong enough to carry..."

Tom impatiently cuts him off "You can thank me by telling me what's going on!"

Marshall nods quickly. "Right...right! Sloane went through me to put in a request for any top secret files on you, especially pertaining to your medical condition. I have no idea why he's digging into your past..."

Tom cuts him off with a disgusted chuckle. "I do. He's looking for any reason he can to shit-can me. We may have made peace, but with Sloane, it's never that simple. If he can determine that I'm too much of a risk to work here...WHICH I'M NOT...then, he'll push for my removal. I just know it."

Marshall just shrugs a bit, not sure what to say.

Tom smirks and gives him a few pats on the shoulder. "I appreciate the info as always."

Marshall smiles and says "No problem! Good luck in Minsk! Oh, if you don't mind, could you take some pictures of some of the sights?"

Tom turns and gives Marshall a funny look. "Huh?"

"In Minsk! My wife is working on a scrapbook..."

Tom looks down at the camera, then back at Marshall. "I wouldn't exactly call myself the second coming of Annie Leibovitz, but I'll see what I can come up with." Tom then walks out of Marshall's office, leaving Marshall with a relieved grin.

As he approaches his desk, Tom turns to his right and looks into Sloane's office, where Sloane is seated.

Eventually, Sloane looks up from his desk at Tom. Tom stares him down for a bit, then gives him a quick, reassuring headnod. The nod is returned by Sloane before he returns to his work. No sense for things to get out of hand with them two. At least at this point.

But under his breath, Tom says "So now, we're playing chicken, Sloane. Who's going to blink first before the collision?" 

Then he finishes walking to his desk with his camera and cartridge in hand, ready to go over mission details with Nadia...which could offer up the first meaningful conversation they've had in a couple days.

* * *

_**Minsk** _

Tom and Nadia arrive at the outdoor party.

Tom is in a neatly-pressed tuxedo, with his camera looped around his neck. He's also wearing glasses, a last minute addition.

Nadia, meanwhile, is dressed in the lovely teal dress that she was in in the actual episode.

Tom can't help but look her up and down. It's about all he did after she got dressed, but he can't help it. Nadia looks amazing when she's classed up. He then looks back out at the crowd. "Nadia, let me just go out on a limb and say that you're going to be a head-turner tonight. You're easily the most beautiful woman here."

Nadia cracks a small, downright cocky grin. "Well, as a reporter, you have to be able to grab the attention of whoever you want to interview."

"Based on some of the looks some of these fellas are giving you, I'd say you have that pretty well handled. If only they knew who you were going home with..." Tom then turns to Nadia with a shit-eating grin, feeling like the luckiest man there.

Nadia decides he needs to be knocked down a bit so he can focus, which he's having a hard time doing. "Well, my photographer, let me remind you that you just have to blend in. So no thrill-seeking, ok?"

Tom gives her a bit of a sulking frown. Tom's usually cocky during a mission anyway, but his missions in the past have been different. He needed self-confidence more often than not in Mexico and in tactical missions with Dark Cover. Here, however, his usual self-confidence would be overkill. In fact, if anything, he was told to act a little like a buffoon, but not too badly of one. Speaking of buffoonery, Tom adjusts his glasses. "I hate these damn things."

Nadia confidently says "You look good in them, you should wear them more often!"

Tom gives her a dissatisfied look. He really does hate wearing glasses.

Back at APO, Jack interrupts the flirting. "I hate to break up your...conversation, but is there any sign of the architect?"

Back at the party, Tom looks over to the left to see his man talking with a bunch of women. "He's 9 o'clock from my position. Let's see if he's got our little PDA." Tom holds up his camera and indeed, finds an image of the PDA in the man's pocket on the digital screen. "Yep, it's there."

Jack gruffly says "Good, get on with it."

Tom pulls away from the camera and looks at Nadia. "Alright, I'm going to look for our scientist." Tom then cracks a cocky smirk. "And you go do that voodoo that you do so well."

Nadia smirks back, now feeling pretty self-confident herself. In her case, that's good. "Piece of cake." Nadia goes off to the left towards the architect while Tom starts milling around the party off to the right.

As Tom's taking time out to take some pictures, trying to blend in, it would take him not even a minute for Tom to spot his scientist in the crowd. "Bingo. I've got the scientist. Let's see if he's camera shy..." Tom, in character, strolls up quickly and confidently to the scientist. "Hey, doctor, I'm with Daily Dose of..."

He doesn't complete the sentence because, while he was talking with his hands, he knocked the champagne glass out of the scientist's hand. The glass shatters on the ground, and this causes Tom to feign surprise. "Oh no! Oh, my editor is going to kill me!"

Tom squats down with the scientist to grab the glass, but as he does, he pickpockets a security card from the scientist's pocket. The scientist notices Tom reach for his pocket. He thinks he sees something white in his hand...something like a card.

But, his concerns are alleviated when Tom instead pulls out a white handkerchief and picks up the fallen, cracked glass. "I'm so sorry, sir. I'll take care of this." Tom then stands back up with the glass and looks left and acts like he spotted someone. "Oh, she wanted me to get a picture of this guy..." Tom then storms off to the left, leaving the scientist to his confusion.

As he sets the broken glass on a passing-by waiter's tray, he hears Marshall say "I've got the info from the PDA. Maximus, how are you doing?"

Tom smirks as he takes off his glasses to wipe some splashed champagne off of them with his handkerchief. "I've got the security card. That scientist probably thinks I'm such a klutz..."

As he says that, he bumps shoulders with a man that he did not expect to see: Cesar Martinez. The two lock eyes for a second. For a split second, it ends up being a tense moment as Cesar has a look on his face like he might have seen Tom from somewhere. Tom realizes this.

But Tom takes the buffoon route and smiles. "Pardon me! I can't see without my glasses!"

Cesar just smirks and walks away, but as he's walking away, he puts a cell phone up to his ear. Crap. Time to wrap up the show.

Tom puts on his glasses and makes another turn to the left. Once he feels he's clear, he puts his finger up to his ear. "Cesar Martinez is here, I repeat, Cesar Martinez is here. I just bumped into him."

At the entrance, Nadia has a look of surprise and dread on her face. "He wasn't supposed to be here!"

Back at APO, Jack asks "Maximus, where are you?"

Tom says "I'm heading towards Evergreen's location."

Nadia says "No! Hang on! He'll know you're here with me!"

Tom stops in his tracks, and starts looking at his camera, trying to not be obvious. "Ok, so now what?"

Nadia says "If Cesar is here, he's going after the glass. Maximus, did you see anyone else with him?"

Tom shakes his head. "No, just him. He got an eyeful of me, though."

Jack sounds concerned over the comms. "We need to speed things up. Maximus, you said you have the card?"

Tom nods. "Yeah, you want me to grab the glass?"

"You are not authorized for this kind of..."

Tom rolls his eyes, then gets a bit testy, but keeps his voice low. "Do you want the freaking thing or not? We need to act quickly or it's time to make like a shepherd and get the flock out of here!"

As Jack lets out an audible sigh, Nadia says "If he got a good look at Maximus, he might be looking for him. I'll distract him."

Jack quickly snaps "Evergreen, this is a dangerous man..."

Nadia cuts him off. "I can defuse him, this will work. This should buy us some time."

Tom lets out a small chuckle. "I think Nadia can. You should see the dress she's wearing..."

Jack is tired of Tom's diversions. "Maximus, I've heard quite enough about Evergreen's attire..."

Tom gets his focus back suddenly. "Even so, if this guy crosses me, I think I can take him."

A concerned Nadia says "You don't know this man. Don't underestimate him."

Tom looks down at his right hand and smirks. "Ask Jack's tracker in Argentina what happens if you cross me. I can pull this off. Besides, I still have the de-scrambler for the safe, too."

Jack thinks for a bit. He doesn't appreciate that Tom has put his feet to the fire, but he did seem confident he can pull this off aside from his usual bravado. "Ok, proceed. Good luck, but move fast."

Tom changes directions and heads towards the back of the party.

Nadia, meanwhile, starts milling the party, looking for Cesar.

* * *

_**Inside the Institute** _

Tom's keycard works and he enters the door. He carefully peeks around the hallway to see if anyone is there, and then proceeds down the hallway to the left. As he gets down to the hallway, he opens the door and enters the lab room.

As he does, though, he starts to hear static in his ear. He whispers "Guys, are you hearing this?" Hearing no response, he yanks the earpiece out and puts it in his pocket. "That's right, Marshall said mine wouldn't work indoors. I'll put it back on after I'm out of here."

Tom then reaches into his left pocket and pulls out an elaborate lock de-scrambler. He was meant to hand this to Nadia along with the key so she could retrieve this, but thankfully he saw the demonstration of how it works before the mission started. Seems simple enough.

He sticks the de-scrambler on a safe and waits for the numbers to spew out. He punches in the code and opens the safe.

But, as he does, he hears gunfire outside the door. The door busts open and two gunmen enter the room, along with a very confident-looking Cesar, holding a champagne glass. Cesar locks eyes with Tom immediately and takes a sip of champagne. 

Tom stops what he's doing and stares him down, but doesn't say anything.

Cesar looks at the safe and asks "Looking for something?"

Tom just stands there with a sneer, not saying anything. Meanwhile, he's not seeing any way out of this situation. One gunman he can handle, but not two with itchy trigger fingers. That's assuming he has a gun, which he doesn't in this case.

Cesar sets down his glass and casually walks up to Tom as the other two gunmen have their guns pointed at him. He gets into Tom's face and yanks off Tom's glasses. Cesar then smirks. "I knew it."

Tom raises his eyebrows a bit. "I see brains come standard on the base model of gangster nowadays."

Cesar laughs a bit. "You may not know much about me, but I know ALL about you. That includes your sarcastic humor."

Tom gives him an extremely sarcastic smile. "You've been quite the good sport since we bumped into one another. If you give me a pen, I might just give you my autograph."

Cesar chuckles, then menacingly shakes his head slowly. "Oh, I'm a fan. But not for your comedy. Your brutality, your bravado...and your evil...is a black mark in Latin America. I never thought I would see the day where I would have a chance to literally look the devil in the eyes."

Tom loses his smile a little bit. Cesar just called out his darkside, and his darkside wants to come out and play. "Are you speaking as a guy who likes my celebrity, or did I affect you in some way?" Tom looks down and starts examining Cesar's body. Confused, he says "I see you have all your limbs, and you continue to live, so we must not have met."

Cesar scowls at Tom. "I've done a lot in my career to get where I'm at. I rose up from NOTHING. But there wouldn't be anything sweeter for my future career prospects...than to be able to say I killed the infamous Halcón Diablo. I know cartels that would pay a good price for your dead body."

The inner devil takes over Tom. With an evil look in his eyes, fires back with a low, gravely voice. "Then what are you waiting for? Others just as cocky as you have told that to my face, and yet, I still stand and they do not." Tom them smiles in a very sinister way, his inner dark passenger shining through. "Funny how these things always play out, me alive and you...well, my casualties usually don't get open caskets at their funerals. So, if you have something to do, grow some grapefruits and do it! Or die. My victims usually don't get an option, but you're catching me in a generous moment."

During this staredown, Tom has not noticed that one of the gunmen has retrieved the glass from the safe. That same man now brandishes a lead pipe.

Meanwhile, Cesar just gives Tom a smirk. "It'll be more satisfying to kill you and that little bitch you're with in one fell swoop."

Tom's eyebrows raise a bit, the darkness inside him subsiding rather quickly. Do they have... _  
_

But, before he can say anything, the gunman hits Tom in the head with the pipe HARD. Tom immediately blacks out.

* * *

_**Somewhere in the Institute** _

Tom is awoken by his body being shaken as well as Nadia's yelling. "Tom! TOM! Wake up!"

Tom gets his focus, blinks a bit, and then sees Nadia's face. He immediately looks dismayed. "Nadia...they got you too..."

"Cesar made you. He remembers your legacy in the Anti-Cartel."

Tom nods his head, but still looks like he's shaking off the cobwebs. "Apparently, he's the president of my fan club."

Nadia turns away and looks down. "I wonder if he knows we're together..."

"In which capacity?"

"We had better hope he thinks we're just partners and not in love."

Tom gives her a funny look. "Am I dealing with a potential jealous ex-lover here?"

Nadia just keeps staring at the floor blankly.

Once he realizes Nadia's not going to talk, Tom rubs the back-right side of his head. There's a pretty sizeable lump there. No blood, though. He is encouraged by the fact that he doesn't really have a headache, either, and the church bells aren't ringing. The point of impact hurts, but he doesn't seem to be phased in any other way.

"Are you alright?" Nadia suddenly asks.

"I think I'll be fine." Tom then looks over at Nadia and eyes her down. "Did he hurt you?"

Nadia immediately shakes her head. "No. I was knocked out out for a while."

Tom now starts examining his surroundings. They're sitting on the floor in an empty room, with two small windows off to the right near the ceiling. Looks like this room could be used for an office of some sort. It's completely empty besides them, though. Tom notices that it's still nighttime. "Any idea how long we've been here?"

Nadia shakes her head. "No. I have no idea how long I was out. Last thing I remember was gunmen interrupting the party as I was talking with Cesar, then Cesar sticking a needle in my neck. They apparently just threw me on top of you, because that's where I was when I woke up just a bit ago."

Tom grabs Nadia's arms and looks for any blood or scratches. "You don't appear to be cut up any. Maybe he's preserving our heads for his wall."

Nadia thinks Tom was trying to be funny, but doesn't catch the humor. "Tom, that's just gross. He's very aggressive, but he's not like that."

Tom chuckles, then says "Well, you didn't hear the conversation we had. He apparently sees me like a trophy buck. And he also said he was going to kill you when he killed me."

Nadia nods her head. "I know. I figured he would."

Tom shifts a bit so he can look at Nadia without turning his head. "Ok, just what in the hell is up with you two? This HAS to be a reason why you've been distant these last few days!"

Nadia looks apprehensive about saying anything.

"Nadia, talk to me! It's me, you can tell me anything, you know that!"

Nadia turns to Tom with a worried look on her face and starts to speak. ( _Note: At this point, we get the whole sad life story of Nadia at once, instead of in segments like we saw in the actual episode_.)

Tom just slinks back against the wall when Nadia's done. He looks like the air just got sucked out of him. "Nadia that's...that's one depressing life to live. I'm so sorry you went through all that, but I know that doesn't begin to even cover the surface of your wounds."

Nadia looks at him curiously. "I thought you would be angry with me."

Tom gives her a confused look that is also combined with sadness. "Nadia, you broke my damn heart with that story. How could I be angry with you?"

Nadia sighs and, with a look of remorse, says "Because I didn't inform anyone about my prior relationship with Cesar. He's from a part of my past that I just wanted to bury deep inside of me, never to be seen again. Instead, we're here, and I'm pretty sure he going to kill us. I should have called for us to abort instead of sending you in like that. Cesar is a very violent man, and I feared something like this could have happened."

Tom analyzes what Nadia has to say. Yeah, she should have let him know about Cesar and their prior dealings. But given the internal struggle he is having with his own buried past, he can relate to what Nadia just did. Besides, his heart is sunk too low in his stomach to really do anything about it right now if he wanted to. So, he offers Nadia a faint smile and touches her face lightly. "Remember after our mission in Monte Carlo, when I was talking about calculated risk?" When Nadia nods, Tom continues. "We made one tonight. It appeared that he was alone, and you were confident that you could distract him. Unfortunately, with calculated risks, sometimes something gets lost in the calculation, and we're put in situations like this."

Nadia lets out a disappointed snicker. "Yeah, I left out my past with Cesar."

Tom then leans in closely to Nadia's face. "But there's a variable with us that changes the calculations altogether."

"What?" Nadia's not sure where he's going with this.

"What if...what if, me and you are meant for something greater than to simply die in an empty office in Minsk? What if, whatever these...anomalies are that are flowing through our veins, the love that we share, are a sign of something to come?"

Nadia doesn't seem to be sold by Tom's speech so far. "Tom, what are you saying?"

Tom sits up straight and goes into full selling mode. "It was by chance we met in the first place. It was by chance that you saved my life. And after my experiment, after all that I went through, I somehow survived and was allowed to endure on this earth for a little longer. Why? What do I have to offer anymore? I had everything ripped away from me, and yet chance puts us together once again. In fact, we're downright drawn to each other like magnetism! We both sought something greater than what we were presented in our childhood, and I believe we both have found what it was we are seeking. It's taken me 34 years to realize this, but I found what I've been looking for! I found you! And whether our love is real, or whether it's artificial, I don't care. I love you. And THAT...THAT feels more real to me than anything I've ever felt in my life! It's as real as this room, this floor, this air...and I believe we're together to satisfy some sort of purpose, a purpose that we'll face together!" Nadia's starting to get misty as Tom continues. "And there is no one else on this earth I'd rather face whatever it is we're going to face than you. Nadia, this is not the end. This is just the start, the start of something beautiful. And as long as we're together, as long as we love one another, then all the rest is bullshit. But we are stronger together, we are better together, and we will survive together. Because dammit, I love you too damn much for anything to happen to you, and I know you feel the same way about me."

That was one hell of a speech, and Nadia was deeply moved by it. After shedding a couple tears, touched at what Tom had to say, she leans in and gives Tom a very passionate kiss. Whether Tom was being full of it just now or not, suddenly Nadia isn't afraid anymore.

But just as she starts the process of a wonderful makeout session, Cesar walks in the door, forcing them to break the tender moment. He gives them a look of complete shock. "Nadia and the Devil...I have seen it all..."

Nadia looks at Tom, wondering why he just called him "the Devil". She also looks saddened because, up until then, Cesar apparently hadn't connected the two together yet. Not that it really makes a difference at this point, probably.

Tom just looks at him with a look of defiance. "I understand you two had a little thing, but apparently you valued glory over love. It's a shame, she's a great gal. You did me the biggest favor in the world abandoning her, and I hope that is the last thing that crosses your mind when I rip out your throat..."

Nadia holds Tom back from getting in Cesar's face, knowing how Cesar takes insults.

But apparently this is a kinder, gentler Cesar nowadays, because he starts laughing. "If it weren't for me tonight, you'd eventually find the same knife in your back as the one she plunged into mine." Cesar suddenly turns sinister. "How could I love the woman who killed Roberto Fox, the ONLY man who gave a damn about me growing up?"

Tom then stands up quickly and now it's his turn to hold Nadia back. He looks at her and says "No. This prick is all mine." Before Nadia can protest, he starts walking towards Cesar, feeling the darkness inside of him that he flashed at Cesar earlier in the night swell in him again.

Cesar draws his gun quickly and a little fearfully, which causes Tom to stop about a foot in front of the gun.

But this does not stop Tom from giving Cesar one evil glare. "Nadia told me the story. Roberto did not have your best interests in heart. He was only out for himself, just like you are. Like teacher, like student. The fact that you're opportunistic and ruthless, that doesn't impress me. I've been there and done that. But, I pity you. I pity you because for all you've gained, you're alone. You have no foundation to stand on. And ruthless people like us eventually get what's coming to them. I know it happened to me all at once, and I have a feeling your lucky streak is about to come to an end. And believe me, Cesar, when it all comes crashing down on you, you won't be lucky enough to have someone like Nadia in your life to break your fall. You'll die alone and no one will care. All your legend, your glory...will become worthless in a split second. So anything you do from this point forward...will be about as impressive as a wet fart."

Cesar then gets tired of Tom's talking and gives him a hard-boot to the stomach, pushing him back to the wall. Tom's back smacks into the wall as he falls to the ground. As Tom tries to gain his bearings again, Cesar walks up and points his gun just outside of arms length from his head. "Oh, but you're so wrong! My legend is going to skyrocket after tonight! I'll be known as the man that killed Roberto Fox...and now, I will be known as the man that killed Halcón Diablo, the terror of the Latin American gang community..." 

Cesar immediately pulls back the hammer quickly.

Noticing, Tom realizes that there's no stopping Cesar now. He looks down at his right hand. He looks at the scar running on the outside of it and realizes he only has one move left. And to anyone else on this planet, it would be extremely futile. It also means that Tom can't protect himself from the truth no longer, but he has no time to process that at the moment, not with his life seconds away from coming to an end.

Tom quickly thrusts his right hand in front of Cesar's gun, holding it about a foot away from the barrel.

Nadia sees Tom make this apparently futile move and makes one final plea. "Cesar, DON'T!"

Too late. Cesar pulls the trigger. A loud bang goes off...followed by a sound no one expected.  _PLINK!_

Tom collapses in a heap and immediately starts screaming in pain.

Nadia had covered her face in terror. When she lowered her arms, he saw Tom squirming and yelling in pain on the ground, holding his right hand. The fact that he's still alive almost makes her smile, but she immediately registers that there's another player in this dance. So she looks up at Cesar, and looks completely shocked at what she's seeing.

Tom eventually settles down and examines his hand. A big, red, bloody spot had formed in his palm. A few seconds of further examination revealed a blood-filled hole in his skin on the lower portion of his palm. The bullet didn't pass through him...but it wasn't in him either. Tom quickly looks over at Nadia, who was looking in complete astonishment at Cesar. Taking his cue, Tom looked up at a now stunned Cesar...and immediately realizes what Nadia was looking at.

The bullet that was intended for Tom's forehead...had ended up in Cesar's.

Amidst the pain, Tom's jaw drops. He knew immediately what had happened, and he knew how it happened. And at this point, all he was concerned about was how he was going to cover this up. Tom closes his eyes and grabs his hand. But he can feel the waterworks starting already, and it wasn't because of the pain in his hand...but what was in it.

Meanwhile, Cesar, his life escaping from his body, looks down at Tom. Now staggering around, Cesar asks Tom, with all the voice he could muster "How...?" He can't complete the sentence. He falls backwards onto the ground...dead as dead can be.

Nadia then looks over at Tom, who is clinching his eyes tight and holding his hand. Nadia thinks it's because Tom's hurting, so she leans over him and puts a comforting hand on his left shoulder. "Tom, are you ok?"

Tom doesn't respond with anything except the slightest of headnods.

Nadia looks down at Tom's hand. She knows he shouldn't be alive right now. Something beyond comprehension just happened. "You stopped the bullet with your hand...how..."

Nadia suddenly freezes when Tom flashes a look at her with a combination of a worried and shocked look on his face. The shock and the pain is gone. The worry is taking over in his body. How is he going to handle this?

Suddenly, as if sensing an opportunity for a distraction, Tom springs up and starts patting down Cesar's body. He reaches into a pocket and finds a cell phone and tosses it to Nadia. "Call APO, let them know we're alive! My guess is that the other gunmen are gone...surely, they would have heard the gunfire."

Nadia looks at Tom, still wondering what just happened. "What do I say?"

Tom pulls out the amplifying glass from another one of Cesar's pockets and holds it up to Nadia with his bloody right hand. "You can tell them we got the amplifying glass, Cesar is dead, and we need to get out of here!"

Nadia dials a number and holds the phone to her ear.

On the other end, Jack picks up. "Who is this?"

Nadia, a little exasperated, says "Jack! It's Nadia!"

A frantic Jack asks "Nadia, where are you?"

"Tom was made. Cesar knew about Tom from the past somehow. He captured us both, but we're escaping! We have the glass and Cesar is dead! I'm fine, but Tom took a bullet to the hand..."

Tom looks at her with bulging eyes and starts yelling "I'm fine!"

Nadia gets the message. "Tom says he's fine."

Jack says "Vaughn and Sydney are en route there, they should be there any minute. They're parking a helicopter right outside of the building, meet them out in front. Is there any other of Cesar's henchmen there?"

"I don't think so, otherwise they would have been here by now! But, I don't know where we are in the building!"

Jack looks down at Marshall, who is triangulating the cell signal in his computer. He has the exact location of the cell phone on his screen, which is located inside the Institute building. Marshall motions for Jack to hand him the phone, which he does. "Nadia, it's Marshall."

Nadia is now surprised to hear Marshall's voice. "Marshall, where are we?"

"When you exit the door, run down to the right, go to the end of the hallway, go left, then make a quick right and you'll be at the entrance!"

Nadia nods and says "Tell Vaughn and Sydney we'll be outside."

"They should be landing by the time you exit. They're almost there. Good luck."

Nadia simply says "Thanks" and hangs up. She observes Tom finishing his pat down of Cesar.

Tom then looks up at her. "What did Jack have to say?"

"Vaughn and Sydney will be here any second! We have to leave!"

Tom nods his head. "Couldn't have said it better myself!"

Tom and Nadia then get to their feet. Tom grabs Cesar's gun that is sitting next to Cesar's head. However, Nadia immediately grabs it from Tom. "Tom, you can't hold it with your hand like that."

Tom looks at his hand a bit, then nods. "Hopefully, the cavalry won't be waiting for us when we open that door. Either way, you take the lead."

Nadia nods and runs towards the door to the office. Tom follows her to the door. Tom and Nadia leave their empty office and run down the hallways as Marshall instructed. They meet no resistance as they get to the entrance of the place.

* * *

_**Outside The Institute** _

Tom and Nadia run through the now-empty plaza and head towards the area where they first entered. As they get there, they see Sydney and Vaughn's plane landing in the distance.

Tom and Nadia start waving their hands and eventually, they see the side door of the helicopter open. They take their cue and break for the helicopter. Nadia gets in first, followed by Tom, who quickly slams the door shut and tells Vaughn, who is flying the plane, to take off.

The helicopter lifts off and the team flies away.

Back in the helicopter, Sydney turns and looks back at Nadia and Tom from the passenger's seat in front. "Are you two ok?"

Tom is staring at his hand, which is now a real bloody mess. He doesn't say anything as he continues to fear over the fallout of what just happened.

Nadia notices Tom not speaking up and speaks for him. "We're ok. We got the glass. Cesar is dead because of Tom."

Sydney looks over at Tom, then down at Tom's hand. "Oh my goodness..." Sydney turns back around and reaches for a first aid kit. She grabs a bottle of rubbing alcohol, clean rag, some gauze pads, and tape. Sydney turns around and hands them to Nadia. "Can you clean that wound?"

Nadia nods, then says "Tom, let me see your hand."

Tom then looks at Nadia with a look of fear and trepidation in his face, like someone who has been tortured and tortured and tortured until they can't tell friend from foe anymore.

It's a look that really alarms Nadia. This isn't like him. "Tom...what is it?"

Tom then looks down. His hand really does need attention, and he finally gives up. There's no way out now. He turns and reluctantly extends his hand out to Nadia.

Immediately, Nadia goes to work, wiping away the excess blood that is all over his hand and a part of his arm. Nadia then starts wiping around the wound itself and immediately notices something. "A piece of the bullet that hit Cesar in the head must have broken off in your hand..."

Sydney now looks at her suspiciously. "How is that possible?"

Tom lets out a pained sigh and looks at her. With his voice quivering out of fear, he says "Because...Cesar shot at me...and I blocked the bullet with my hand."

Sydney's jaw drops. "How is THAT possible?"

Before Tom can answer, Nadia turns to Sydney and says "Sydney, I need some pliers!"

Immediately, Tom yells out "NO! DON'T!"

Nadia turns to Tom quickly. "Tom, I need to get that bullet fragment out!"

Tom shakes his head slowly. "That's not a bullet fragment."

Nadia looks down at the hand. "But Tom, why am I seeing a piece of metal in your hand?"

"BECAUSE THAT IS MY HAND!"

With a look of shock, Nadia looks up Tom, who now has his eyes closed and quite a few tears have already streamed down his face from both eyes. She doesn't really know quite what to say at the moment, but she's afraid to say anything at all even if she did know.

Sydney, meanwhile, is seeing Tom really struggle here. Whatever happened to him...must have been really bad. "Tom, what happened to you?"

Tom lets out a couple sobs. He can't fight them off anymore. 

Nadia impulsively leans over and gives a hug, like a mother consoling a child. "Tom, it's ok. It's going to be ok." She caresses Tom's back, trying to make him feel better.

After a few seconds, Tom finally opens his watery eyes and looks at Nadia, then at Sydney with extreme sorrow in his face. Nadia notices Tom must be ready to speak, so she sits back and lets go of the hug.

With all the pain in the world in his voice, a trembling Tom says "Since I joined APO, I've dreaded the day I had to reveal this to you all. This is what caused my meltdown with Jack and Sloane at Nadia's birthday. I showed them the scar on my right arm. Nadia saw the scar on my arm when she was over after that, and Sydney, you saw the scar on my hand a while back." Tom looks over at Nadia, tears freely flowing from his eyes. "And now, you've seen a part of what I've been hiding under those scars." Tom then buries his head into his left hand.

Nadia and Sydney notice that he's taking this really hard. Nadia is especially heartbroken, seeing Tom like this. 

Before one of them can speak up, Tom continues. "I always feared this day would come, the day where I would have to reveal all of this to you. I've never been so afraid of anything in my life, because I realize that what I have to tell you...could have drastically change your opinion of me. Not just because of the experiment, but also for what I did right before it happened. I can't tell one story without telling the other. And I've had to live with the curse from my actions ever since that day!"

Nadia scoots over and puts her arm around Tom, allowing his head to fall on her shoulder. She strokes Tom's head a little as she soothingly says "It's ok. We're here for you."

Tom removes his head from Nadia's shoulder and looks at her for a moment, then looks back over at Sydney, who nods her head reassuringly.

Tom nods his head, but then looks down. "It's a little noisy on this helicopter...I'll tell the three of you on the plane ride back...I'll tell you all everything." Tom then looks over at Nadia. "Could you clean my wound, please?"

Nadia gives him a faint smile and goes back to work on his right hand.

Tom stares out the window behind Nadia, fearful for the conversation that is about to come.

He's got a sinking feeling that the secrets he's about to reveal could be the end of him in APO. But most of all, he's afraid that he's going to lose Nadia over this.

_**TO BE CONTINUED** _


	10. The Orphan And The Devil Part 2

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episode 12_

* * *

_**Somewhere over the Atlantic** _

Tom has his right palm extended over a table on the plane. It's in the process of being stitched up, and every time whoever is working on the stitches is causing Tom's hand to twitch a little every time a stitch is inserted. We see that whoever is doing the stitching is on stitch #5 of the bullet wound that Tom just suffered earlier that night, and the wound is almost closed. The person finishes up the stitch, then places a small gauze pad over the wound and tapes it tight to Tom's hand.

Tom sits there, having taken every stitch without complaint. in a navy blue t-shirt and white khaki shorts, sitting at a small two-person table against the airplane wall. The ghastly scar is very noticeable on his right arm, running up it like a long red canyon on his light complexion.

Sitting directly across from him is Nadia, who is also wearing a navy blue t-shirt to go along with athletic shorts. She's cleaning up the medical supplies she just used. She hasn't said much of anything since she started stitching up Tom's hand, letting Tom defuse a little bit. But in her heart, she feels worried sick about him. Nadia NEVER has seen Tom so frightened in his life when she asked to take a look at his hand on the helicopter. That look on his face has stuck with her ever since.

Tom holds up the hand and examines it, rubbing the gauze pad a little. He looks over at Nadia and sees that she's troubled, probably by his grief earlier. He decides to try to lift up her spirits...after all, it's what he lives for. "You do a good field dressing, Nadia."

As she finishes her cleaning, she turns back to Tom and says with a small smile "Thanks, I've done a few before, including a couple to myself."

Tom winces a bit. "Ouch! When?"

Nadia smirks and points to her right shoulder as she looks back at Tom. "The first time was when I cut myself on razor wire when I was 18 and living on the street in Argentina. That's how I learned."

"Damn...do you still have a scar?"

Nadia shakes her head. "It's faded. If you look close, it's still there, but it's not that noticeable anymore."

Tom shakes his head at the thought of that. He hates the prospect of Nadia getting hurt at all. Then, he looks back down at his hand. A fearful look takes over on his face. He dreads what's about to come. After a few seconds, he lets out a nervous sigh. "Nadia, I'm so scared..."

Nadia is extremely concerned with the fear Tom is showing. "Tom, I've never seen you like this before. Look at me!" Tom reluctantly looks up at her. Nadia grabs the fingers on Tom's right hand, avoiding the stitching. "It's going to be ok."

Tom, still looking at his hand, shakes his head. "What I'm about to talk about was very traumatic for me, and left me forever changed." Tom then looks back up. "You have to make up your own mind, but all I ask is that you please...please don't think any less of me as a human being after I'm done with this."

Nadia gives Tom a sincere, yet intent look. "Tom, when I told you about my life, all of the crimes, the arrests...then killing Fox...you chose not to judge me based on that. You continued to love me, even with my faults."

Tom sighs and looks down at the table. "My heart broke when you told me that story. It was hard for me to understand how someone who brings me so much happiness in my life went through so much sadness. But Nadia..." Tom then looks back up at Nadia again with a somber look. "...what I did to earn my scars, the metal in my hand, was something I've never forgiven myself for." Tom chokes up a little at the end, the grief swelling up in him.

Nadia then stands up, trying to keep him from breaking up again. "Come on, you'll feel better after you tell us. And I promise I'll be objective, no matter what you have to say."

Tom nods, stands up, and just says "Thank you."

With Nadia still holding Tom's hand, she lifts it up to her mouth and gives it a kiss. The two then walk across the plane, where Vaughn and Sydney are sitting together.

Nadia sits in an airplane chair across from Sydney on the window-side, leaving a seat for Tom across from Vaughn.

However, Tom chooses not to sit. Instead, he closes his eyes and sighs, trying to compose himself.

Sydney, noticing Tom's consternation, says "I understand what you have to say is going to be difficult. Take all the time you need, but know that you're under no obligation..."

Tom shakes his head. "No, it's too late for secrets now. I have to get this off my chest, I can't stand it anymore."

Sydney solemnly nods. "Well, we're here for you."

Tom then opens his eyes and looks at Sydney. With a low, humble voice, he says "Thank you. First of all, and I just got done saying this to Nadia, all I can do is hope that you all don't view me as any less of a human being after what I have to say. But if you do, I understand."

Vaughn shifts in his chair a bit. "Why would we think that?"

"Because you'll either view me as a man with a handicap or as a rotten human being. Or both. There's nothing I'd hate more than to be viewed as either by my friends."

Vaughn nods his head, but doesn't say anything.

Tom decides it's time to press on. "The first thing I need to talk about is my medical condition. That very condition allowed a bullet shot from Cesar Martinez's gun to bounce off my hand and end up in his forehead. However, you know what they say about a picture being worth a thousand words...so before I explain it, it'd be best if I showed you it first."

Nadia can't take her eyes off of Tom, but also can't help but feel the pain in her heart that Tom feels in his. 

Sydney looks over at Nadia and notices how concerned she is. She reaches over and holds Nadia's hand. This appears to put Nadia's mind at ease a little, but she's still deeply concerned for her boyfriend. 

Tom turns around, with his back towards Vaughn, Sydney, and Nadia. He holds his head up and looks towards the ceiling. He knows there's no turning back now. This is it. Then, he takes a deep breath, then reaches and grabs the collar of his shirt, bends over, and pulls his t-shirt off.

Vaughn's jaw drops a bit. Sydney and Nadia's eyes bulge at what they're seeing on Tom's back.

They're seeing a nasty-looking scar in the shape of an I on his back, with a scar going from shoulder to shoulder and another from one side of the hip to the other. The I is completed with a scar going straight up the back along the spine. There's also a little stem that extends from the top of the I up to the back of Tom's neck, disappearing in Tom's hair. We also see the entire scar that runs down Tom's right arm, as that side is facing them. Like the scar on his arm, the ones on his back are also the deep canyon-like scars, complete with the dark red river deep down the middle, followed by puffy pinkish-red skin that elevates off Tom's back.

After a few seconds, Tom turns around to reveal a new set of nasty scars on the front side of his body. These scars are in the shape of a backwards C, with a scar going from his left shoulder, across his collarbone, and ending at his right shoulder, then cutting down the side of his body and ending at the hip. From the right hip, it cuts across his body and ends at the side of his left hip. Same canyon-like scars, and it gives the three images of his body being opened like a book, which surely must be why the scars are where they are.

Tom sees the look that's on the faces of his three companions, and he's not the least bit surprised. Blankly, he asks "Is it ok to put on my shirt now?"

The three of them just nod, not saying anything. Some tears have fallen from Nadia's face. Tom notices and throws on his shirt quickly.

Nadia, with a look of horror on her face, "My God..." She compulsively gets up and throws her arms around Tom. "Tom, I'm so sorry. What happened to you?"

Tom hugs her back. "Nadia, I'm ok. I'll be ok. Please, sit down."

Nadia nods and reluctantly lets go. She sits back down, this time on the edge of the seat directly across from Vaughn, facing him.

Tom looks at Nadia and blankly says "To answer your question, Nadia, the Covenant happened."

Sydney leans forward, her eyes perked at the mention of the Covenant. "The Covenant did all that to you?"

Tom lightly nods. "Yup, this is their handiwork. I was their first successful patient of Project Alloy."

Vaughn, still a little stunned at Tom's scars from earlier, asks "Project Alloy?" Vaughn looks over at Sydney. "Did you ever hear of this?"

Sydney dumbfoundedly shakes her head.

Tom turns around and finds a basic chair. He grabs it and sets it at the end of the seats that Vaughn, Sydney, and Nadia are at and takes a seat. "You guys wouldn't have heard of it, probably. Our division controlled the investigation of it."

Nadia reaches over and grabs Tom's right hand. "So what's in your hand...is all over your body?"

Tom gives Nadia a sheepish nod. "Yes. Project Alloy is a procedure where your skeletal system is yanked out, and replaced with titanium replicas. All of my bones in my upper body between my head and hips and my right arm are now made by the same material they put in Tiger Woods' golf clubs."

Nadia shakes her head and has a mortified look on her face. "The pain this must have caused...how did you survive the surgery?"

Tom leans his head back and looks at the ceiling, shaking his head. "I've been asking myself that same question every single day since I woke up from the operation." Tom looks back down at Nadia. "I have yet to figure that one out. CIA doctors don't know how I could have possibly survived, either."

Vaughn quick-fires another question. "If you don't have your real spine back there, how are you able to walk?"

"That one is also a bit of a mystery. I don't understand all of it, but the doctor that worked on me somehow worked it so my metal spine functions like my regular spine. Doctors with the CIA think there's some organics in there somehow, but they can't figure that out with out cutting me open again and examining me. We mutually agreed that is not happening. But even though I am able to walk, there were still some neurological hurdles to deal with. Up until about a month or so before I joined APO, I was still having some coordination issues with walking and running. Those neurological issues are the main reason why I'm not a full field agent. However, I haven't had any issues since joining APO."

Sydney says "Your motor skills are keeping you from being a field agent? When you ran down Anna..."

"I still had full control over my arms and hands, but the legs were the issue. I've only been 100% there for maybe a month before I joined APO. When I was offered the job here in APO, the CIA still had concerns about my hips, since I still deal with soreness in them from a time to time from where they connect with my metal spine. They also believe that, at some point during the surgery, the doctor accidentally bumped my brain pretty hard. They're worried about the possibility of blackouts or a hard blow to the head easily giving me a concussion."

Nadia quickly says "You said you got hit on the head by one of Cesar's men. How do you feel now?"

Tom feels the back of his head. "I still have a lump on the back of the head, but I have no headaches, no blurred or double-vision...nothing. And I have yet to randomly black-out like they were worried about. When I get back, I have to get tested right away. It's a condition of my employment in the CIA, because they're still wanting to know more about my condition. My left arm, which is real, gets a little achy where it connects with my metal shoulder after I do something strenuous with it, but besides that, I'm physically fine, aside from the horror show scars."

After a bit of silence, Sydney then says "Tom, I would have not guessed you went through all that. Outside of the scars...I probably would never have had any idea what happened to you."

Vaughn nods. "I agree. In fact, were it me, I'd be pretty mad at the Covenant. I'd find that anger hard to hide."

Tom shakes his head. "I've come to grips with what they did to me. In fact, I'm actually thankful. Because, without this procedure, I'd be a paraplegic, and I wouldn't be having this conversation with you now. Still, they are the reason I needed this procedure in the first place." Tom then closes his eyes and hangs his head. "And this is the part that is difficult for me to talk about."

Nadia looks troubled again at seeing Tom so down. "It's ok, we're here for you." With one hand, Nadia grabs Tom's right wrist. With the other, she places her hand on top of Tom's, in an attempt to comfort him a little.

Tom still has his head hung. "I was the leader of a tactical team called Storm Crew. Myself, Mike Walcott, and Chris Cooper, two of my real good friends from the Anti-Cartel, were recruited by Dark Cover to get the team going. Our first addition was an op-tech named David Marston, a young single father that was facing a prison sentence for hacking into the FBI database. Instead of prison, we got him a job, and he proved to be invaluable. We also added Mitch Hayes, my mentor in the Anti-Cartel who was working at a desk at Langley when I brought him on...long story there. The remaining 5 spots on the team we handpicked ourselves." Tom pauses for a moment, takes a deep breath, then continues. "Flash forward to June 6th, 2003. James Lennox, my former boss, had received intel that the doctor that was heading Project Alloy was found to be working in an old building in Torino, Italy. Our whole team was to be sent to infiltrate the place. Mitch was not invited at first because we suspected him to be a rat for leading us into a death trap a couple months earlier in Cordoba, Spain...along with other reasons. However, I let him tag along with us after Mike was tasked with something else the day of the mission."

Vaughn tilts his head. "That doesn't make sense. If you thought the guy was a rat, why did you take him along?"

Tom looks at Vaughn with an angry look. "Because I wanted to see if the prick would try to run to the protective arms of the Covenant. Or, on the alternative, I wanted to see if he'd eat a bullet during the mission. Bottom line, my hate for the man clouded my judgment. I just wanted him gone and out of my sight...seeing him at work every day, knowing that he betrayed me and the team...it was starting to make me physically sick."

Nadia then asks "So, what happened in the mission?"

Tom chuckles. "Well, I was right. Mitch ate a bullet early in the mission, courtesy of the Covenant. I'm not sure why or how it happened because I was elsewhere in the building, but my guess was he was running. Even though I considered him a friend and mentor, I was 100% sure he was a rat, so I wasn't the least bit sad at his loss. Anyway, more on him later. By the time he was killed, I had proceed up to the third floor while the rest of the team handled the Covenant forces that were set up on the 2nd floor. I get to the main room in the 3rd floor...and it's this HUGE room, about three stories high, with these old stone pillars holding up the roof. And right smack-dab in the middle of the room is our doctor...or so I thought. But something didn't seem right. The room was different than what was presented in the schematics." Tom then lowers his head and shakes his head. "Then I ignored my gut instinct. A quick scan of the room revealed no traps, and I decided to proceed. I starting running across the room. And that is when I made the worst mistake of my life."

Tom then puts his head in his hands. He doesn't say anything for a few seconds as he tries to compose himself for the really hard part. Nadia starts caressing Tom's hand and arm. She feels this duty to him, hating to see him hurt as much as he hates seeing her hurt.

Sydney, in a somber tone, asks "Tom...what happened?"

Tom pulls his head away from his hands. His eyes watery, he says "I didn't see a clear wire that had been strung across between two pillars. I tripped over the wire...and the wire triggered two explosions. One to the right, and the other to the front. The doctor died, but as it turns out later, he was just a Project Helix clone. I hit the deck and saw that the roof was caving in, so I just braced myself for my death. A few seconds later...a stone pillar from off to the right comes crashing down on my right arm and back, smashing them to bits."

Nadia lets go of Tom and openly gasps in horror, covering her mouth with her hands.

Tom continues undaunted. "I passed out from the pain shortly after. Over the course of the next month, I only woke up once, and that was during the surgery...when I got to get a good look at my guts and my skin folded open like a book. I had never felt such pain in my life."

Vaughn, Sydney, and Nadia all wince a bit at the thought of that.

A still-horrified Nadia asks "What happened when the surgery was done?"

Tom thinks for a bit, then says "After I woke up for good, they tried to brainwash me into becoming a Covenant agent."

Sydney raises an eyebrow. "You too?"

Tom looks at her and nods. "Yeah, and they used the same tactics they used on you...neurotoxin and old family videos. Only with me, the neurotoxin was worthless."

Sydney, a little surprised, asks "How come?"

Tom shrugs. "I never found out why. I'm guessing I wasn't wired right after the surgery somehow, but CIA doctors thinks my body resisted it somehow. After a few days, I make my big escape after I kill the doctor and make contact with Dark Cover. James came down to debrief me and take me back to Baltimore...and that's when I learned a horrible truth." Tom then starts openly weeping. His head quickly goes back into his hands. He doesn't want to have them see him like this, but he can't help it.

Nadia stands next to Tom and squats down to put an arm around him. Tom notices, but doesn't break what he's doing.

Finally, after a few seconds, he raises his head back up. "I had learned that I had gotten my entire team killed. All six of my teammates on that mission were either blown up or crushed by the building falling on them." Tom starts sobbing again. "All because of a STUPID mistake a child would make!" Tom weeps some more, then composes himself again after a few seconds. "Those men...those were my friends. My old Anti-Cartel director told me: 'It's easier to have the back of a friend than a co-worker.' And in the two years we worked together, I had gotten to know them all as my friends. I knew their wives, their girlfriends, their children...I can still see their faces...and I PROMISED their loved ones that, no matter how dangerous the mission was, I would bring their men home. And I betrayed them! I took away the men in their lives...with one...STUPID mistake! My team looked up to me to lead them safely in and out of our missions, and I had NEVER even tested their confidence in me. Not once. And I rewarded their loyalty and faith by killing them." Tom buries his head back in his hands.

Nadia, who still has her arm around Tom, looks at Sydney, who looks troubled over what she just heard, like his story is hitting home for her. She then looks over at Vaughn, who also has a sad look on his face.

Nadia then looks back at Tom, who's just a basketcase right now. "Tom, we all have made mistakes before. It's a part of what we do. We all know the risks of what we do."

Tom then looks back up and looks at Nadia with an extremely pained look on his face. "Remember a couple weeks ago, during my suspension, when I went to Baltimore? The day Anna kidnapped you, then later shot you?" Nadia nods her head. "I went to Baltimore to visit the graves of those friends. I went to their graves to do the same thing that I did every...single...day since I returned to Baltimore after my procedure. I went there to beg for forgiveness. And to this day, I still haven't received an answer, and I don't think I will until the day I leave this earth. And until that day comes, I still have to live with their blood on my hands and the scars on my body; a constant reminder of the man I was, and of the men I got killed in Torino."

Sydney then cuts off Tom's train of thought. "Tom, I'm not sure if this will mean much, but I completely understand what you went through with your friends."

Tom looks at her with a look of surprise. "You got a group of good people killed, too?" 

Sydney nods her head slowly. "Yes, what happened to your friends reminds me of something I went through years back. I had just become a double agent for the CIA, working against SD-6. I went on a mission with Dixon in Badenweiler, Germany. I was to retrieve an inhaler, then Sloane ordered me to blow up the facility so no one else could get the vaccine. However, I was to give a group of CIA agents some time to switch inhalers and disable the explosives so they could get the vaccine later. Well, I disabled one detonator, but Dixon had a backup and blew up the building while the agents were still in it."

Sydney then hangs her head, which Tom notices. "You must have been devastated."

Sydney nods her head. "I felt as responsible for their lives as you did. They trusted me, and I had let them down. And I felt exactly like you did: I took them from their families! Vaughn knows...I was pretty tore up after that."

Tom scans over to Vaughn, who nods his head. "She took it hard. But...like I told her then, there was no way of knowing what would have happened."

Tom shakes his head. "But Sydney didn't have any control over the second detonator...but I...I could have walked away! So what if I turned out to be wrong, my team would have lived to fight another day!"

Vaughn shakes his head. "You made a judgment call. You assessed the situation, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. You couldn't have envisioned what would have happened."

Sydney then says "And it's not like you willingly killed your friends. You had the best of intentions, just like I did."

Tom lets that comment sink in a bit, then just nods, acknowledging Vaughn and Sydney's rationale. He then continues. "Anyway, the CIA officially blames the whole ordeal on Mitch's treachery. The day of the mission, the CIA anonymously gets a packet of information detailing Mitch's dealings with the Covenant. Phone records, transcripts...he had his dirty meat hooks into us for a year and a half. But, there was one more cut on my psyche yet to be made." Tom hangs his head again. "The CIA had presumed me dead. I was gone for over a month after the mission. When I came back, I had learned they informed my wife, who was my high school sweetheart, that I was CIA for the past 12 years. My wife never knew about my CIA career, she had always thought I was an undercover cop. I was a cop in our small-town in Missouri after I graduated high school, and when I joined the Anti-Cartel, I told her I had joined the LAPD, then the Baltimore PD when I got the Dark Cover job. That was my cover. But, when I returned home, after I learned that she knew about me, she tore me a new one. She told me she was cheating on me for a while, that she was 4 months pregnant with a child that wasn't mine, even though she said it was before the mission..."

Nadia's heart finds new depths to sink to. "Oh no..."

Tom looks at her and nods sheepishly. "Yeah. That child was one of the things that motivated me to escape from the Covenant. I wanted to be a father to that kid. But, I guess it was not to be. Anyway, she also informed me that she was breaking up with me and going to live with that kid's father. I begged her to stay and I showed her my scars. Instead, she told me that not only could she not live with a liar...she could not live with a freak. That was the last thing she ever said to me."

Nadia grabs Tom's right hand hard, partly out of comfort but also out of surprise anger. When she sees Tom grimace in pain because of the stitches, she eases up. "You're not a freak! How could she say that?"

Tom looks at her and smiles. "I know...and thank you for not thinking of me as a freak. That means so much to me." Tom then looks back at Sydney and Vaughn. "What she told me was a big reason I didn't tell you guys all of this before. I didn't want my condition and the incident in Torino to define who I am with you guys. I didn't want to be viewed as a 'freak' or as some guy with a handicap, and I didn't want to be viewed as an awful human being who gets his friends killed. Before I go to bed, I'm going to give Director Chase a call. We both mutually agreed to keep my condition and the Torino mission details a secret. Well, I was recently informed by Marshall that Sloane sent a request to get access to these records. And I'm going to let him have it. What scared me the most about revealing this is...being with this division, with you guys..." Tom turns back to Nadia and looks at her longingly. "...with you...for the first time since Torino, I can smile at the face I see in the mirror, and I don't want to lose that." Tom looks back over at Sydney and Vaughn. "I don't want to leave any of you guys. But, I have a feeling Sloane is going to push for my termination or reassignment."

Sydney wastes no time in sticking up for him. "You still have me in your corner. If Sloane's going to try to get rid of you, I'll have your back."

Vaughn nods his head affirmatively. "Same here. You're still good in my book."

Tom seems touched by the sudden outpouring of support. As he starts getting emotional, he then looks over at Nadia, who has a reassuring look on her face. She tells him "You're my guy. I'll always have your back, because I know you'll always have mine."

Tom smiles at Nadia, then stands up. "Thank you for hearing me out, and thank you so much for not thinking any less of me. This really means a lot to me. Now, if you guys don't have anything else, I'm going to contact Director Chase, and then get some sleep."

Sydney agrees. "Yeah, we all should be getting some sleep, actually. It's been a long day. We still have a few hours before we get to LA."

Vaughn tells Tom "You and Nadia can take the bed in the backroom, we'll sleep out here. You two went through quite a bit tonight."

Tom nods his head and says "Thanks."

Nadia leans over and gives Tom a warm hug. "I'll always love you, Tom."

Tom gives Nadia a kiss on the top of her head. "And I'll always love you, Nadia." Tom then looks up at Vaughn and Sydney and, still holding Nadia, tells them "Good night."

Vaughn and Sydney all say "good night."

Nadia tells Tom "I'll be in in a little bit. You have to call Chase, right?"

Tom nods. "Yeah. Give me a bit."

Tom lets go of Nadia and walks into another room on the plane, which has the two beds that Vaughn mentioned. He sits on the edge of the bed on the right and picks up the phone on the small table against the wall. He quickly punches in a number.

On the other end, Director Chase picks up her cell phone. "Hello, who is this?"

Tom says "It's Tom Falk, from APO."

Chase, a little irritated, says "Why are you calling me this time of night?"

"Because we need to talk about my Project Alloy and Torino records."

Chase sighs. "Tom, Sloane put in a request to view them. I'm informing him first thing in the morning that those records are top secret and in no way, can he..."

Tom insistently says "No. Let him see them. Make them available to Jack and Sloane. It's time they know."

Chase gets a little flustered. "Tom, we both agreed that keeping these a secret was the best way to handle it."

Tom quick-fires "Chase, tonight in Minsk, I killed a man by blocking a bullet with my right palm and having it ricochet into his forehead. I can't hide that in a debrief. Bullets aren't supposed to work like that. Now, I just got done giving Nadia, Sydney, and Vaughn the details, so the cat is out of the bag. It's time."

Chase lets out a loud sigh. Then, she nods her head. "You're right, Sloane and Jack need to know now. I'll arrange a briefing during the day tomorrow with Sloane and Jack Bristow so I can fill them in and discuss where we go from here. In the meantime, were you injured?"

"Nadia did a great job patching up my hand, but I got hit in the head with what I think was a lead pipe. I was unconscious for a while."

Chase immediately fires back "You need to report to our doctors as SOON as possible..."

Tom cuts her off. "I know, I know. That's another reason I'm calling, so you can get a heads up that I'll be checked out. But, I'm not feeling any adverse effects. I was unconscious for a little while, but I don't think it was long. Physically, I'm fine."

"Good. I'm also going to put you through some testing while you're with the doctors tomorrow. We need to know where you stand physically with your condition, and I think Sloane and Jack would like to know as well. Also, as I'm sure Jack has told you, we found some things in your and Nadia's blood that we want to examine a little further, so we'll also take care of that tomorrow. Afterwards, you can take the rest of the day off. I'll brief with Sloane and Jack, and you'll know the next day where things stand."

Tom nods, but interprets that last part as if she could be meeting with the executioner the next day. "That's fine. Anything else?"

"No. Have a good night".

"You too".

Tom hangs up his phone and lies down on the full-size bed, reflecting on the events in the past hour or so. As he recalls the conversation he just had with Vaughn, Sydney, and Nadia, there's only one conclusion he comes to. To no one in particular, he utters "It's good to have friends like these."

Nadia enters shortly after that, having not heard Tom talking on the phone anymore. "Everything alright with Chase?"

Tom nods and stands up to get the bed ready. He pulls down the covers and takes his shoes and shorts off, leaving just his boxer briefs on below the waist.

Nadia, meanwhile, also takes her shorts and shoes off and decides to take off her shirt as well, not a fan of how heavy it sits on her. This leaves her in her bra and panties. She thinks that Tom seeing her in them might lift his spirits a bit, even though she usually sleeps with a nightgown. Plus, she doesn't have a nightgown. But she notices as Tom sits on the bed that he still has his shirt on. That can't be comfortable. "Tom?"

Tom looks up at her, then smiles a bit seeing Nadia disrobed. He's smitten with her. "Nadia, you are a thing of beauty..."

Nadia gives him a flattered smile, then insistently tells Tom "Take your shirt off. It's warm on this plane and you can't be comfortable with your shirt on."

Tom gives Nadia an apprehensive look and just sits there. 

Nadia then make the decision for him. If he's not going to be comfortable taking of his shirt with her present, she's going to make him take off that shirt with her present. She sits down next to Tom and grabs the bottom of his shirt. She pulls up, but finds that Tom's not moving his arms up. "Tom, arms up." She says rather sternly, like scolding a child.

It works. Tom lifts his arms up with a sad puppydog look on his face, and Nadia takes the shirt off of him.

Nadia throws the shirt off onto Tom's shorts and shoe pile and lies down completely, resting her head on her pillow and pulling her covers up.

This causes Tom to follow suit, but he feels like he's in one of those dreams where he's standing naked in a crowd.

Nadia looks at Tom's chest and lightly runs her right hand up the scar that runs up to his left shoulder. She's curious about these scars, but Tom's noticing she's not horrified by them, which lightens his heart a little. Nadia, as she continues to run her fingers up and down lightly, asks "Does it hurt at all when I do this?"

Tom shakes his head. "No. It gets a little sensitive when you get deep in the scar, but they don't bother me anymore."

Nadia runs her hand up to Tom's shoulder, then to his back, where she feels his back scars. Then, she leans over and starts kissing the scars on Tom's shoulder. She's got a very pained look on her face as she does, though.

Tom is noticing and, while he's appreciating the gesture from Nadia, the look on her face has him concerned. "Nadia, what's wrong?"

Nadia looks up at Tom and caresses his cheek a little. "Tom, I wish I could take some of the pain and grief you must have felt after you went through this so you didn't have to hurt so bad!" Nadia lets out a whimper. "You didn't deserve this, and it breaks my heart that you had to endure all the pain you did!"

A now-somber Tom wraps Nadia up in his arms, now needing to be the one to comfort the other. "It's ok, Nadia. I'm here, I'm ok, and I'm better because you make me better. But I think I did deserve it..."

"NO YOU DIDN'T!" Nadia screams into Tom's chest, her head buried in it.

Tom squeezes Nadia a little. "No, the person in this room that didn't deserve what happened to them is you. Everything from the Soviets to the orphanage to what you endured in Japan..."

Nadia looks up at Tom suddenly. "Tom, you are so, so good to me! And that tells me you're not a horrible man!" 

Tom frowns. "If they were still alive, there'd be a group of cartel members in Mexico that would disagree with you."

"Is this what Cesar was talking about when he called you Halcon Diablo?"

Tom pauses for a moment, then nods reluctantly. "I did terrible things to worse people. I earned that nickname."

Nadia thinks about probing further, but doesn't have the heart for it tonight. Tom's been through enough, telling his story and showing her his scars, and she's put him through enough telling about her childhood story while they were captive. Oh yeah, that happened too tonight. So she instead scoots up a little so she can be eye-level with Tom. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is being in each other's arms right now, and living another day." She leans in and gives him a tender kiss.

Tom smiles as they kiss. He can't help it. This was one weighty and emotional night for the both of them, and they still can do things like this. Now, instead of feeling naked and helpless in a dream, Tom feels comfortable being shirtless around Nadia. Because like he accepted her for her faults, she's accepting Tom for his, including his fault-line like scars. Tom reaches over and runs his hand through Nadia's hair, then gives Nadia another tender kiss back, and another, and another...

The two would remain in each other's arms. After all, it was a pretty small bed they were in. Eventually, they would fall asleep, the mere presence of one another doing the trick once again to comfort the other.  

* * *

_**Sydney's Apartment, the next day** _

Tom stands outside of Sydney's door, still in his business suit and holding a small backpack as well as two zipped-up hangers. He sets down his backpack and knocks on the door.

Sydney answers the door smiling. "Hey! Oh, let me get that!"

Sydney reaches down for Tom's backpack, but Tom cuts her off. "Nah, I can get it...you can carry this, though..." Tom hands Sydney one of the hangers. "I've been meaning to bring those over. Those are my emergency clothes in case I crash here and APO suddenly calls us."

Sydney's eyes perk up a bit. "Oh! Yeah, good idea! I mean, I wouldn't want to see you in Weiss's clothes again!"

Tom laughs a bit. "Yeah, that was not a fun morning. Anyway, I've seen Nadia's closet and I don't think there's any way I can fit these in there, even after she moved some of her stuff over to my place. I was hoping you could find a spot for these somewhere."

Sydney laughs a bit. "Sure! I'll just put it in the hall closet. Come on in!"

Tom grabs his backpack and walks on in. Tom walks down the steps leading to the kitchen. He seems to be doing alright, which surprises Sydney a bit since she was under the impression he'd be going through a battery of tests today.

Sydney, following him, says "You can set those in Nadia's room, she's taking a shower right now."

Tom walks into Nadia's room and sets the luggage on the floor next to the bed. He walks over to a coat-rack and hangs his other set of work clothes on the rack that he intends to wear tomorrow. He talked to Nadia before he came over and she insisted that he stay the night with her. Tom had absolutely zero objections to that.

Tom walks back out and sees Sydney working on dinner. "You need any help?"

Sydney, as she's stirring spaghetti noodles in a pot, says "You can set the table if you want."

Tom walks over to a cabinet next to Sydney and grabs some plates. He sets the plates on the counter and starts to grab some silverware. "Thanks for letting me eat dinner and stay the night here tonight."

Sydney looks at him with a dismissive look. "You're always welcome here, you know that."

Tom looks down at the ground. "I know...I'm just glad I'm still welcome here after what I said on the way back from Minsk."

Sydney stops what she's doing, her wooden spoon clanking on the metal pot. "You know, you talked last night about your condition not 'defining' you and making you seem like less of a person to us. Tom, you couldn't be more far off from the truth if you think that those things define you to me, Vaughn, and especially Nadia."

Tom leans on the counter casually. "What does define me to you, Sydney?"

"Well, your complete devotion to Nadia, for one. You go so far out of your way to make her feel loved and appreciated."

Tom gives Sydney a faint smile. "It's what she deserves. I still owe her a lifedebt after the mission we were in in 2001. Plus, with all she's been through in her life, she deserves to feel loved and appreciated by someone. I'm glad I can do that for her."

Sydney nods in the affirmative. "I know. I'm glad you're in her life. I can tell you that you make her very happy. Also, there is something else that defines you...and a lot of people can try to take credit for this, but few actually can."

Tom stirs a bit. "This should be interesting..."

Sydney, unfazed, says "You stand up for what you believe in, and you stand up for the people you believe in. Tom, that means a lot to me, and I know others in the office respect you for that."

Tom smiles, since Sydney hit on something that Tom values a lot: respect. "I appreciate you saying that."

Sydney goes back to making dinner while Tom starts setting plates on the table.

As he arranges the plates and silverware, he hears a shriek from his left. He jumps up, looks over and sees Nadia standing in just a bath towel, shocked that he's there. She didn't want him to see her like this! She was going to dress up and look nice for him and instead, he sees her looking like a wet noodle! In her shock, she exclaims "I thought you were coming later!"

Tom just stands there and smiles. "Hello to you too, beautiful! I thought I'd see if Sydney needed any help with dinner since I got done early with my testing."

From the kitchen, Sydney asks "Oh, I meant to ask you about that. How did it go?"

Tom starts to speak, but Nadia says "Wait! We can talk about it over dinner..." Nadia then turns to Tom with a look of mock outrage. "...after I get ready!"

Tom shrugs. "I think you look good! Tell you what: you stay like that, and I'll put on those glasses I wore in Minsk!"

Nadia furrows her eyes and just lets out a "grrr!" and stomps by Tom, still embarrassed that he's seeing her like this.

* * *

_**Sydney's Apartment, a half hour later** _

A now-clothed and made-up Nadia sits to the right of Tom at the dinner table. Sydney is seated at the head of the table to the left of Tom. All three are enjoying spaghetti.

Perhaps no one is enjoying it more than Tom, who looks over at Sydney and says "Great job in the spaghetti! I haven't eaten all day, and this just hits the spot!"

Sydney gives Tom a satisfied smile. "Thanks! Believe it or not, my dad taught me how to make it."

Tom raises an eyebrow. "Jack cooks?"

Sydney nods quickly. "Yeah, he's really good, actually!"

Tom laughs. "Let me guess, he pays attention to detail!"

Sydney laughs back. "Yes, right down to the minute!"

Nadia finishes her bite of spaghetti and asks Tom "So, how did it go today with the testing?"

Tom just shrugs a bit. "Alright, I guess. They ran a lot of physical tests on me, testing my reflexes. They also ran a CAT scan on me, x-rays, blood tests..."

Nadia leans in after he says that last part and whispers in Tom's ear "For our 'connection', right?"

Tom looks at her and nods. "Right."

Sydney apparently heard Nadia's whispering. "What connection?"

Tom and Nadia both look over at Sydney surprised. Nadia audibly drops her fork.

Tom gently sets his down and looks at Nadia. "Maybe we should tell her, it can't hurt."

Nadia looks at Tom a little curiously.

Sydney, meanwhile, leans forward, intrigued. "Ok guys, what is it?"

Nadia looks back over at Sydney, still somewhat concerned. "This doesn't leave the table, ok?"

Sydney nods her head. "Of course."

Nadia wipes off her mouth, as a precaution, and says "Jack called us into his office a few weeks ago. Apparently, there's some anomalies that are in both of our bloodstreams. One is naturally produced by our body, but they're not sure of its purpose. They suspect the other is a Rambaldi device."

Sydney's eyes widen. "What? What would Rambaldi want with Tom?"

Tom slaps his hand on the table. "I know, right? That's what I said!"

An unsure Nadia says "Well, they say that this possible Rambaldi device interacts with our pheromones and apparently 'connects' us. Being near each other triggers it."

Sydney laughs and folds her arms. "So, that's why you two are like high school lovebirds around each other!"

Tom smiles and shrugs. "I was worried for a while after Jack told us about these anomalies that what we had wasn't real...but like I told Nadia in Minsk..." Tom turns back to Nadia and rubs her back a little. "...I've never felt anything more real in my life."

Nadia smiles and rubs Tom's shoulder a bit.

Tom turns back to Sydney. "So, did anything happen at work today while I was away?"

Sydney quickly turns to Nadia and gives her a bit of a look that surprises Tom.

Tom notices and turns to Nadia, who's smile has been replaced by a look of frustration. "I talked to my father about the mission in Minsk. He was upset that I kept my history with Cesar a secret, and he was upset that I hung you out to dry. He was right, I'm so sorry I sent you in like that..."

Tom waves his hand and shakes his head. "Nadia, you had your reasons for keeping your secret, and they're the same reasons I kept my secrets...I was afraid just like you were. Plus, I got over-confident, so don't worry about it. All that matters is we're alive, and we got the glass."

Nadia sighs. "My father is talking with Chase and Jack about your condition as we speak. When we talked earlier, I told him that, on behalf of Sydney and Vaughn as well, that we still trust you and have faith in you. In fact, I told my father that if you are forced out of APO, I'm following you out."

Tom's eyebrows shoot up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Nadia, that's a little extreme..."

Nadia shakes her head. "No, I meant it. You mean too much to me. Like I told you last night..." Nadia then flashes one golden smile at Tom. "You're my guy!"

Tom smiles back, then leans back in his chair, now curious. "What did he have to say when you threatened to walk?"

Nadia goes back to being concerned. "Basically the same thing you did. Then, we adjourned our meeting. He gave me no indication on where you stand."

Tom then looks back over at Sydney. "Did your dad have anything to say?"

Sydney shakes her head. "I think you already know the answer to that..."

Tom nods his head and sighs. "Yeah, I can see his poker face now, telling you something about it 'being addressed' or something." Tom then sighs again, unsure over what his fate will be, then looks at Nadia. "Hey, do you want to go see a movie? I've been nervous over what's going to happen tomorrow...a movie might get my mind off things."

Before Nadia can respond, Sydney says "Vaughn was going to come by in about a half-hour and watch Bourne Supremacy with me. You two can stay and watch with us."

Nadia shakes her head. "No, I don't want to impose..."

Sydney shakes her head back and smiles. "You two wouldn't be imposing at all! In fact, it'd be fun to have the four of us together."

Tom smirks and nods in agreement before turning back to Nadia. "I agree with Syd. It'd be nice to be with friends tonight. Besides, there's a brand new package of cookie dough ice cream in Sydney's freezer that has been calling my name for a few days now. I don't think I can resist anymore..."

Nadia smiles as she realizes something. "Oh yeah, and I just bought some chocolate chips, sprinkles, whipped cream, chocolate syrup..."

Tom, now with a look of total lust on his face, suddenly leans in and gives Nadia a smooch on the cheek. As a delightfully shocked Nadia looks back at him, a beaming Tom says "Just when I thought I couldn't love you any more, Nadia!"

Nadia laughs and gives Tom a peck on the cheek. "I had no idea that you'd be so happy I satisfied your sweet tooth!"

Sydney smiles and then says "So, I guess we're having movie night then!"

Tom nods, finishes off his last bite of spaghetti. Just like at Nadia's party, he's the last to finish. He then stands up and grabs Nadia's empty plate, then reaches for Sydney's plate, but is stopped by Sydney's hand. "I'll get it!"

Tom shakes his head. "No, you did great with dinner tonight. Relax, I've got the dishes."

Nadia then gets up. "I'll help you dry them."

Sydney then eyes down Tom a bit. "Are you going to wash the dishes in your business suit?"

Tom looks down and lets out a laugh. "Ah, good catch. Let me change into my shirt and shorts and I'll be back out." Tom grabs Sydney's plate and walks over to the kitchen counter and sets the dishes on the counter, then walks left and walks into Nadia's room.

* * *

A few minutes later, Nadia and Sydney are seen putting the leftovers away. Nadia then hears her cell phone go off in her bedroom. She quickly walks over to her bedroom door and opens it.

Just as quickly, Nadia stops in her tracks when she sees a shirtless Tom with his back turned to her, his back scars fully exposed. Tom's standing in front of a mirror, examining his front scars, and not paying much attention to Nadia.

By now, Nadia's phone has stopped ringing, but she doesn't care. Seeing as Tom's still a little unsure of being around her with his scars exposed, she slowly walks up behind Tom and wraps her arms around his waist.

Tom, still looking in the mirror and having noticed her approach, cracks a small smile as Nadia hugs him from behind. He softly says "Hey, beautiful."

Nadia smiles as she looks in the mirror at Tom and softly says back "Hey, handsome."

Tom takes a deep breath, then smiles. "I'm still handsome to you, even with these scars..."

Nadia nods her head. "Of course." She then gives the scar running up Tom's right arm a kiss at the elbow. Nadia then looks down and grabs Tom's right hand, which now has a smaller bandage on Tom's palm. She asks "How's your hand?"

Tom looks down at it and nods. "It's healing good. Doctors were impressed with the field dressing you did. They say it's going to heal normally, probably with no scar as long as I keep Neosporin on it. That's good, because I have enough scars already."

Nadia chuckles as she spins Tom around to face her. Looking into his eyes, she says "I knew being with you gave me a solid foundation to stand on. I just didn't know how solid you really were!" As she says that, she starts grabbing Tom's arm and body a bit to accentuate her point.

Tom smiles as she does that. "And speaking of solid, I knew you were strong...tough...and now I fully know where you got it from. I hate that you had to go through all that in your younger life, but you truly turned out to be something special." Tom then grabs Nadia's other hand and looks deep into her eyes. "I love you so much, and there is nothing in this world I'd change about you."

Nadia then looks at Tom with a sincere smile. "I love you, too. And there's nothing I'd change about you. You're wonderful the way you are."

Tom, who looks genuinely touched by that comment, brushes Nadia's hair back behind her ear. As he does that, Nadia runs her hand through Tom's short blonde hair a bit. Then, in what's becoming her trademark, she puts her hand on the back of Tom's head and yanks it towards her so she can give him a nice, long kiss.

It would be a kiss that would only be broken when Sydney shouts from the kitchen "These dishes aren't going to clean themselves!"

Ah those pesky promises.

* * *

_**APO Office, the next day** _

Tom and Nadia walk in the front entrance together, followed closely by Vaughn and Sydney. Despite it being the morning, the four of them look like they're in a great mood.

We hear Vaughn say "And once again, Matt Damon convinces me that he can be an ass-kicking machine. Matt freaking Damon!"

Tom raises his eyebrows. "Well, you get to date the female Jason Bourne!" 

Sydney and Vaughn start laughing at that. Nadia chuckles a bit as well and says "I always find it interesting watching those kind of movies, considering what we do for a living."

"Hit a little close to home for you?" Tom asks.

"Sort of. But, I guess even spies need heroes. I wish I could do half of what Bourne can do!"

The four of them turn the corner into the APO office. Sydney and Vaughn keep walking down the hallway and wave at Tom and Nadia, who turn right down the middle hallway towards their desks at the end of the row.

As they get to their desks, Jack rushes up to their desk, alarming both Tom and Nadia somewhat. Jack quickly says "Director Chase has asked for you, Tom. She's in the office with Sloane. But, before the meeting, I wanted to let you both know about the potential Rambaldi anomaly in Tom's blood."

Tom folds his arms. "You got the results back from my testing yesterday?"

"Yes, we have everything back. But, of course, Sloane can't know about this, so I'm telling you now. Your anomaly has been VERY active lately."

Tom looks at Nadia. "Well, we've been spending more time with each other outside of APO..."

Jack cuts him off. "That's probably why. We're now almost certain that you two have 'The Connection' in your systems. I thought you two should know. Tom, come with me."

Tom looks at Nadia and gives her a sheepish smile, fearful about the conversation that's to come. Nadia gives Tom a reassuring smile and says "It's going to be ok." She completes the comforting by rubbing Tom's back a little.

Tom just nods at her, a bit tongue-tied at the moment because of his worry, and follows Jack into Sloane's office.

In the office, Sloane is seated behind his desk. Director Chase stands to his back-left, and Jack takes his position on Sloane's back-right. Tom walks up to a lone chair in front of Sloane's desk.

Sloane then makes a hand motion towards the chair. With his usual poker face, he says "Have a seat, Tom."

Tom sits down as instructed and, to the surprise of the three, starts talking immediately, the nerves in him taking over. "Before we begin, I just want to apologize to Sloane and Jack for keeping my condition a secret and leaving you in the lurch for as long as I have."

Before Tom can say more, Director Chase cuts him off. "Keeping Project Alloy a secret was not your final decision. You have nothing to apologize for. You were ordered to keep quiet."

Tom nods. "Very well. Anyway, I realize that my condition has caused my participation level here to be limited somewhat. And I understand this could be causing a problem. So, if I'm here to be terminated or reassigned..." Tom looks down at his shoes and now looks worried. "...I beg that you reconsider. I truly feel I have found my purpose in life here. I enjoy working here, and I don't want to leave." Tom then looks back up at Sloane, Jack, and Chase, not noticing the confused look on their faces. "But, if it is indeed my fate to leave APO, then I understand, and I just want to thank everyone here for the opportunity to serve this division. That's all." Tom then takes a deep breath and relaxes a bit.

Sloane looks down at the table and doesn't say anything.

Jack and Chase give each other a curious glance. Chase then turns to Tom and asks "What gave you the impression that your position here was in jeopardy?"

Tom looks at Sloane and says "I know it's bothered you, Sloane, that you didn't know of my condition. And after what happened the other day in Minsk..."

This time, Jack cuts him off. "We have no problem with your performance in Minsk."

Tom looks at Jack curiously. "Jack, I was cocky over the comms and I eventually got captured, and if I didn't have a metal hand, myself and Nadia would be dead..."

Sloane cuts Tom off now. "You'd be dead because Nadia didn't inform you about her past with Cesar. She knew what Cesar was capable of, and she should have stopped you. You didn't know about his past with Nadia, and on top of that, you didn't know about his desire to kill you."

Tom shakes his head. "Nadia was afraid to tell anyone about her past, just like I was afraid to tell anyone about mine. Besides, I got over-confident..."

Jack cuts Tom off again. "You were confident because you trusted that you had all the information you needed from your fellow agent and made a decision based on that information. You did nothing wrong. And your work here has been very good of late, so you have nothing to be ashamed about."

Sloane immediately says "I concur with Jack. You've been very helpful to this division."

Chase then says "The subject of your termination or reassignment never even came up in our conversation. In fact, I've come to understand that you've assimilated yourself very well here, and have already earned the trust of your fellow agents. So, you're not going anywhere."

Tom smiles wide, relieved in so many ways right now. "Thank you. I'm glad to hear that."

Chase then walks up to Sloane's side. "We have all your test results back. Now, before I reveal them, I want to ask you one more time...how are you feeling physically?"

Tom shrugs. "Very good. My head feels fine, the lump from the blow is almost gone. No blurred vision, no double-vision...nothing like that. As for the rest of my body, I'm feeling rather good, actually."

Chase nods his head. "That's good. Your CAT scan revealed no damage to the brain from the impact a couple days ago. In fact, doctors had a hard time finding any evidence of bruising or damage from the original accident that happened during surgery. They're giving your brain a clean bill of health. As for your physical tests, your reflexes graded out high. Everything else came back good as well, which tells us that your body has completed the recovery process from Project Alloy." Chase then looks down at Sloane. "You wanted to take this next part, Arvin?"

Sloane smirks as he looks at Chase, then back at Tom. "The CIA is lifting any medical restrictions you may have had because of the surgery. I talked with Chase, and I talked with Jack...and we feel it is best that you not only continue on with us...but that you continue with us as a full field agent with no restrictions."

Tom's eyes widen and his jaw drops. He lets out a chuckle...then starts laughing. He claps his hands together and hunches over. "My God...I don't believe it! Thank you! You don't know what it means to me, to no longer be considered something less than what I am!"

Sloane stands up as Tom does. Tom reaches over and shakes Jack's hand, then curiously goes around Sloane to shake Chase's hand. Then, he looks over at Sloane and extends his hand for a handshake. "Thanks for having faith in me."

Sloane smirks as he shakes Tom's hand. "Keep up the good work."

Jack then hands Tom new CIA credentials. "I updated your credentials to reflect your full agent status. It goes into effect immediately."

Tom looks at the credentials, which has his picture as well as details on his CIA status. He then looks at a part that says 'Medical Restrictions'. He smiles as he sees the box next to it is not checked. He grabs his old CIA credentials and holds them side to side with his new credentials. His old credentials have that box checked. Tom then tosses his old credentials on Sloane's desk. "I won't be needing those anymore." Then, Tom walks off beaming, with his new credentials in hand.

Tom walks back to his desk, looking at his CIA credentials with an amazed look still on his face.

Nadia, who was sitting at her desk, stands up and walks up to him. She's encouraged that Tom's happy right now. "Hey, how did your meeting go?"

Sydney notices and walks up to Tom's desk herself. Tom notices and waits for her to get to his desk.

After she does, Tom looks at Sydney and says "I no longer have a reason to be defined by my condition anymore." Tom then looks at Nadia. "Not only am I going to stay here, but I don't have any medical restrictions anymore. I'm now a full field agent."

Nadia beams and gives Tom a hug. "Congratulations! I'm so happy for you!"

Sydney pats Tom on the back. "Yeah, congratulations. I'm happy to hear that."

As he's hugging Nadia, Tom nods his head at Sydney. "Me too...me too." Tom releases the hug and looks at his new CIA credentials again. All he can do is smile at the face he sees looking back at him in his photo ID.

For the first time since the morning of June 6, 2003, he felt whole again.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	11. Meet Edward Landry

_Timeline of episode: Season 4, Episode 13_

_Small, but notable episode change: Assume Marshall made it to work on time._

* * *

_**Downtown Los Angeles** _

There is a struggle taking place in Tom's car.

As he's driving down the freeway, Tom wants to listen to the local alternative rock station. However, Nadia keeps changing the channel to a pop station. They go back and forth changing the channel...one second, Metallica's "Master of Puppets" is playing and the other second, it's Black Eyed Peas "Let's Get It Started".

Finally, Tom changes it to the alternative station and puts his hand over the radio controls. He glances over at Nadia with a stern, yet smiling look. "Driver picks the station!"

A playfully frustrated Nadia tries to pull Tom's hand away, but to no avail. She eventually sighs and sits back in her seat. "Ugh! I hate this...noise! It's not even music!"

Tom shakes his head slowly and has a look of feign anger on his face. "I'm going to pretend you didn't just trash the greatest rock band of all time..."

Nadia quickly turns and points her finger at Tom to make her point. "You want to talk about rock stars...what about a guy with talent...like Prince!"

Tom looks at her with a look of complete shock. What Nadia said...is just blasphemy. "WHAT? Prince isn't a rock star! Why didn't you just say Michael Jackson if you wanted to be so far off on music genres?"

"Hey! Purple Rain is considered by some to be one of the best rock albums of all time!"

"By who? The Deaf Rockers Society?"

Nadia, seeing as Tom is not going to budge, just looks out the window and folds her arms in a pout.

Tom sees this and realizes he needs to smooth things over. "Listen, I was raised under the rules that the driver controls the car radio. When I was a boy, if I tried to change the channel off of the old-timey country station my grandpa liked to listen to, he'd smack me in the face!"

Nadia giggles a bit and looks back at him with a cocky grin. "Thank goodness you're not your grandpa!"

Tom smiles, then quickly frowns and shakes his head. "My POINT...is when you're driving me around sometime, you can listen to what you want. When I drive, I listen to what I want."

Nadia then turns and looks at Tom a little incredulously. "You never let me drive!"

Tom returns the incredulous look with another. "You never ask!"

"So, if I asked you to pull over right now and let me drive into work, would you let me pick the music?"

Tom shakes his head as he pulls off the freeway. "No, because I'm not going to pull over now! We're almost at work!"

Nadia slaps Tom on the arm. "No, I didn't mean literally! I just want to make sure you're consistent with your rules..."

Tom then turns to Nadia with a smile. "Yes! You could then pick your music." Tom then puts his hand on Nadia's knee. "Alright, I'll let you drive more from now on...on the moments we do drive together." Tom's tone turns sad in that last part.

Nadia notices. "Hey, if you want to drive..."

Tom shakes his head. "It's not that. I'm just...dammit, how can I say this without sounding selfish? I..." As he pulls up to a stop light, Tom turns down the music looks back at Nadia with a pleading look. "I wish we could drive together to work more. Before the Minsk mission, you said you were going to stay at my place more, but..." Tom turns back to the road when the light turns green. "Nadia, I love the moments we have together. Moments like this. So I don't know how to say this except to say it: I want you to stay over at my place more."

Nadia grabs Tom's hand that's on her knee, but instead of being touched that her boyfriend wants her around more, she instead feels worried. "I love being with you, too. Part of it is that Sydney lives closer to work..."

"I can move..."

Nadia shakes her head. "No, in fact I don't even know why I said that. The bigger thing is..." Nadia looks over at Tom with a humble look. "I've lost some good relationships because I rushed into things too quickly. I'd move in with someone just weeks after meeting them and they would just get so tired of me after a while. I know a lot of it was simply because I was just looking to attach myself to  _someone."_

"Given your background..."

"That's exactly it. In fact, I was so worried I blew it with you after the first night I stayed with you, after my birthday. I pried you on your scars and when I saw how defensive you were, I was so afraid that I blew it."

Tom shakes his head and solemnly says "No, you were just concerned. I understand."

"I know, but losing you is something I truly do fear. And I look at what we have and I don't want to risk you getting tired of me..."

Tom almost is tempted to slam on the brakes here, but he refrains. "Nadia! Babe! At this point of our relationship, after what we went through in Minsk, are you really afraid of me telling you to take a hike simply because you're around me too much?"

A defensive Nadia replies "Yes! I know it doesn't sound rational..." And that's the truth. It really is something she's insecure about: wearing out a welcome.

"Nadia, the first night you stayed over, it wasn't even planned. And I ended up giving you a key to my house! I've stayed over with you at Sydney's a couple of times, including last night! After I showed you my horror show scars, you didn't run away from me...and you still have no idea what that means to me! But you're really that bothered by staying at my apartment because...you're afraid I'm going to get tired of you?" Another stop light allows Tom to stop and turn over to look at Nadia. "Nadia, you're not getting rid of me! I know that probably is a terrible thing to say at this stage of our relationship..."

Nadia laughs, then lifts Tom's hand up to her mouth for a kiss. "No, it's actually very reassuring!"

Tom gives her a sincere look. "Good. Remember, in terms of looks, I'm the lucky one here." Nadia lets out a flattered laugh as Tom continues. "So if there's anyone worried about wearing out their welcome, it's me!"

After Nadia stops laughing, she forms a wide smile on her face. "Thank you...for both the compliment as well as your reassurance. Even if we don't agree on music, we at least agree that we love each other, even with our faults."

Tom nods his head, understanding that she was alluding to both of their dark pasts. "So does this mean that I can see you more?" A car honks behind Tom. He didn't realize the light turned green ahead of him, so he waves at the guy behind him and drives ahead.

"Yeah. I really have wanted to come over more. Thank you for putting my mind at ease." Nadia suddenly gets an idea. "Hey, how about after work, we go to that tapas place that we've been meaning to go to, and then I'll come over to your place afterwards?"

Tom suddenly stops in front of the subway entrance that leads to APO. "That sounds like a great idea to me! I'll see you inside a little later. I lo..."

Nadia looks at her surroundings a little curiously. "Why are you stopping here?"

"Sloane came across something called 'Nightingale' the other day and he's tasked me with finding out details about it. I have a meeting with one of my informants in a few minutes that I have to take care of before I head into work."

Nadia gives a quick, understanding nod, then leans over and gives Tom a pretty long kiss. After she releases the kiss, she says "Thanks for the ride to work today, and thank you for your faith in me."

Tom laughs. "It's me who should be thanking you endlessly for that after I revealed my scars to you."

Nadia looks down. "Those scars just made me cherish you more."

"I know. And the thought of you being lonely and unloved in the past...I almost feel like I have to make up for that somehow."

Nadia looks at Tom's eyes with a touched look. "Thank you. You make me feel very loved. I love you, Tom."

Tom smiles wide. "I love you too. I'll see you in a little bit."

Nadia opens the car door and says with a beaming smile "You better!" before stepping out.

Tom smiles as he watches her walk into the subway, which leads to the APO office. To no one in particular, he says "Thank goodness I was injected with a Rambaldi artifact that made me fall head over heels for her..." Tom then pauses for a bit and now looks to be in deep thought. "I wonder WHEN I was injected..."

Tom's thought process is cut off by the sound of a car horn behind him. This is getting to be a too common occurrence this morning. Again, he waves at the guy behind him and takes off.

* * *

_Story note: While Tom is away, a hard drive that Dixon recovers turns out not to be a hard drive at all. It explodes, killing the poor nameless IT guy that was working on it and forces Dixon to go into a seizure. He survives, but now APO is on lockdown for 36 hours, and Sydney is buried alive in Cuba. But, APO does have one recently-promoted field agent that wasn't at APO at the time the lockdown began..._

* * *

_**Outside the Alcove Cafe and Bakery, Los Angeles** _

From a distance, we see Tom sipping on coffee while chatting with a man who appears to be Eastern European of origin. The conversation is casual, but we see Tom is starting to get a bit frustrated.

Finally, the man stands up and Tom stands with him. Tom reaches out and shakes his hand. "Even though you told me what I already knew, thanks for meeting with me."

The man smirks and simply says with a Slavic accent. "Thanks for the free coffee."

The man then walks away and Tom goes a separate direction. He's shaking his head. "Man, these people make so much money doing their shady shit, and yet, they still love their freebies...unreal." Tom hits the button to unlock his Cadillac that is parked on the street at the end of the block.

As he gets in his car, he gets a phone call. On the caller ID, he sees it's the APO office calling.

He automatically assumes it's Sloane and answers. "I'm on my way in, Sloane. Unfortunately, my informant was a dud."

Instead of Sloane's voice, he hears Jack Bristow's, and it sounds like he's on a speakerphone. "Tom, it's Jack. This isn't about your meet this morning. Sydney's in trouble."

Tom stirs in his seat a bit as he turns the ignition in his car. "What's wrong? Did something happen in Cuba?"

"Sydney's buried alive in a cemetery in Cuba. The hard drive Dixon acquired exploded and released a toxin. Everyone here at APO is on lockdown for 36 hours."

Tom, looking almost tazed with a cattle prod, only thinks of one thing. "Is Nadia ok?"

Tom then hears Nadia's voice. "I'm fine! One of our IT guys died and Dixon had a seizure, but he's going to be fine!"

Jack then picks up the conversation. "No one can leave APO to rescue Sydney, but you can. You need to get to Cuba and find Sydney."

Tom racks his brain for a bit. "Do we know WHERE in Cuba she is?"

"Somewhere in Havana, she's using a cell phone but we haven't been able to triangulate a signal, it keeps cutting out."

Tom then looks like a light bulb has gone off in his head. "I know who would be able to get a lock on that signal. Jack, I know you haven't exactly warmed up to his idea in the past, but I want to use Mike and David's help on this."

Suddenly, he hears Sloane's voice. "You're talking about your former Storm Crew teammates who are now CIA freelancers based in Baltimore."

"Yes! David was my op-tech, he'll be able to triangulate Sydney's signal, he's got special programs he made just for this. Mike, meanwhile, has been in Cuba so much as of late, he can probably count how many cigars it would take to connect Havana and Guantanamo Bay by now. I'll fly into Baltimore, pick them up, and fly down to Cuba and by the time we're there, we'll know EXACTLY where Sydney is."

On the other end, Tom hears Sloane ask someone "Does Sydney have enough time for Tom to make a detour in Baltimore?"

That's followed by Jack saying "His plane will need to stop and refuel somewhere anyway. He can refuel there." Jack then tells Tom "I'll set up a charter to Baltimore. Go straight to LAX, I'll have the particulars shortly."

Tom starts driving off. "Already on my way. I'll bring her back alive...you have my word."

Nadia blurts out. "Be careful!"

With a determined look on his face, Tom replies "I'll be whatever Sydney needs me to be." Tom then quickly hangs up and dials another number.

On the other end, Mike picks up the phone. "Hey Tom! What's going on?"

A cocky smirk forms on Tom's face. With as much southern Missouri twang as he can muster, he says "Rosin up your fiddle, I'll bring my lead guitar and David can bring his drumset because we're getting the band back together for a mission!"

Mike's eyes widen and he starts beaming. "Hell yes! What's the mission?"

"Search and rescue mission in Cuba. One of our agents is buried alive and she doesn't have a lot of time. I'm chartering a private plane to Baltimore, I want you and David to meet me at Baltimore Washington Airport, we'll discuss the details on the way to Cuba. My superiors have authorized your participation, and they pay pretty well."

Mike laughs a bit. "Tom, I know you'll take care of us. We're in. I'll let David know."

Tom smiles. "Good. He'll need to triangulate a sketchy cell phone signal, so let him know to bring whatever he needs for that. My plane should be ready when I get to the airport, I'll be there in a couple of hours. Be waiting and be ready, we have to be fast! The Devil is going down to Cuba, looking for a soul to save!"

"And he's in a bind, way behind, and calls Mike and David to make a deal! We're in!"

"I knew I could count on ya!"

Mike laughs. "Come on, it's us! We wouldn't miss an opportunity for a Storm Crew reunion!"

Tom laughs back. "Alright, see you in a few hours!" Tom hangs up the phone and would arrive at LAX airport in record time.

* * *

_**Somewhere over the Atlantic** _

We catch up to Tom on a chartered plane, sitting across from Mike and David. David is setting up his laptop and going over the equipment that's in his bag.

Tom tells Mike "Thanks again for helping out. I don't know anyone that knows Cuba as well as you do."

Mike smirks. "Man, it feels good to be working together again. It feels like it's been so long...well, since Dark Cover was still around."

Tom shakes his head. "Nope, this is different because, for the last year of Dark Cover, I was held back by Project Alloy-caused health concerns. This will be more like pre-June 2003."

Mike's eyes widen a bit. "You mean..."

Tom smirks. "Yep! No more medical restrictions! I'm a full agent again!"

Mike reaches across and slaps Tom on the shoulder. "Congrats man!" Mike then looks at Tom's right arm, which is exposed thanks to his short sleeve shirt. "I figured something must have been up because you're wearing short sleeves again!"

"Well, I can't be digging up graves in Castroville in a business suit!"

"Nah, but I'm glad you did tell them finally. I told you it would have been fine."

David looks up from setting up his computer equipment. "Me too. I'm glad you finally told them."

Tom looks over and gives him a somewhat sheepish nod. "Yeah, I had a bullet bounce off my hand last week in Minsk and go into the forehead of the very man that shot at me. I can't hide that in a debrief. So, I let everyone in on the big secret."

Mike sits back. "That includes what happened in Torino?"

Tom nods. "Yeah. Turns out the agent we're saving in Cuba was very understanding, since she was involved in something similar years back. Actually, everyone seemed pretty understanding about it."

"How'd Nadia take it?"

"Rough. She was traumatized that I went through all of that. What's interesting is I just went through being traumatized by her backstory. She's spent too much of her life being unappreciated."

Mike nods. "That's the life of an orphan."

"I know, but hearing it...just made me more glad I'm in her life."

David asks "How'd Chase and all them handle it?"

"They discussed it after I went through some tests after the mission and determined I had a clean bill of health. I thought for sure I was going to be canned, but instead, I got a promotion! Go figure!"

David shakes his head. "I'm not surprised. I thought you should have told them from the get-go."

Tom leans towards David. "Remember, keeping Project Alloy and Torino a secret was a mutual agreement between me and the CIA. It literally took a miracle in order to open up those cans of worms."

David casually shrugs. "Yeah, but you didn't exactly fight the CIA's desire to keep it a secret, either. Just saying."

Tom looks at Mike a little curiously. "Since when did David become such a ball breaker?"

Mike says sarcastically "Probably when he started blowing up buildings in Bulgaria."

Tom and Mike share a laugh at that while David just smiles and shakes his head.

Tom eventually stops laughing and composes himself. "Alright guys, time to get to brass tax here."

Mike composes himself as well. "Alright. Search-and-rescue for a fellow agent. What else do we need to know?"

Tom looks down. "I must emphasize...failure is not an option here. This agent is very important to the division...and to me."

Mike tilts his head a little suspicious. "It isn't Nadia herself, is it?"

Tom looks up and shakes his head. "No, it's her half-sister."

Mike's jaw drops. "Nadia has a sister? Why didn't you tell me this?"

Tom rolls his eyes and puts his face into his palm, picking up on Mike's intent. With a groaning tone, all he can say is "Mike..."

Mike leans forward. "Is she single?"

Tom removes his head from his palm and looks at him incredulously. "You see? THAT RIGHT THERE is why I never said anything about Nadia having a sister!"

Mike throws up his arms. "What the...? All the times you helped me try to find a girlfriend in the past and you're putting your foot down now?"

Tom leans forward. "Mike, she's not your type."

Mike gets a defensive look on his face. "Yeah, and what's my type, exactly?"

"Single."

This causes David to start laughing out loud, forcing his head to the table. David's all too familiar with Mike's woes with women.

Mike looks at David with an irritated look, then back at Tom. "I see...let's pick on the bachelor! You know, just because you two have stable and spiritually-fulfilling relationships doesn't mean you have to rub it in my face!"

Tom laughs a bit, then gets a serious look on his face. "Look, if Sydney was single, I'd totally hook you up. She's good people, and I consider her a pretty good friend. But, she's in a pretty serious long-term relationship. Now, if I thought the boyfriend was a douchebag, then maybe I'd try something, but in this case, Vaughn is also a guy I consider a friend."

Mike smirks. "I gotcha...wait, is there a third sister?"

Tom's eyes widen. "No there isn't, Romeo!"

Mike hangs his head and nods defeatedly. "Gotcha."

Tom composes himself again. "Alright guys, can we try this mission briefing again?"

David leans forward in front of his laptop. "Yeah, shoot."

Tom looks back over at Mike, who has composed himself and nods.

Tom starts off. "The agent in duress is named Sydney Bristow. She was sent on a mission in Havana, Cuba to help locate a hard drive that contained information on a large-scale attack on a civilian target that's apparently imminent. Long story short, she was compromised and buried alive with her dead informant. Problem is, we don't know WHERE she is, except we think she's probably still in Havana somewhere. She's been calling our office on a cell phone, but the signal is too faint for our equipment to trace. David, think you can work your magic on that signal?"

David smirks. "If it's emitting ANY signal, I'll find it. All I'll need is the phone number. In fact...I could locate her exact location if she calls my laptop directly."

Tom raises an eyebrow, like an idea just went off in his head, then grabs his cell phone and dials APO.

Jack answers on the other line. He sounds like he's still on speakerphone. "Tom, what's your status?"

"We're about 10 minutes or so from touchdown in Cuba. Are you still on the line with Sydney?"

"Yes, she's still alive, but she's not doing well."

Tom, a little exasperated, says "Oh geez, hang on a second..." Tom holds the phone away from his ear. "David, what's the number she needs to call?"

David says "888-555-9191."

Tom nods, then gets back on the phone. "David says he can locate her exact location if she calls directly into his laptop. Can she call the number I'm about to give you directly?"

"No, her battery is about to die any second. I could forward her line to you, though."

Tom holds the phone away from his ear. "David, if they forwarded her line to your laptop, would that work?"

David nods. "Yeah, that would work."

Tom gets back on the phone. "Forward her line to this number, we'll get her location, and shoot her right back to you. She won't have to do anything."

"What's the number?"

"888-555-9191."

On the phone, he can hear Jack telling Sydney "Tom is en route to Cuba and he's going to track your phone. I'll have to forward your number to his, so you'll probably hear silence for a few seconds." After a brief pause, Jack gets back on the line. "Alright, is he set up?"

Tom looks over at David and mouths "Are you ready?"

David nods and says "Yeah, go for it."

Tom relays the message to Jack. After a few seconds, we hear a "ding" on David's laptop. We see David furiously typing away at something. As he does, he says "Alright, I'm getting her exact coordinates...just give me a couple more seconds..."

Tom tells Jack "He's working on it, should just be a couple more seconds."

A few seconds later, a beep is heard on David's computer. David exclaims "Got it!"

Tom asks "How accurate?"

David smirks. "Right down to her fingernail!"

Tom smirks back. "Good..." Tom then starts talking into his cell phone again. "Jack, we got her exact location. What's the number we should use to forward her back to you?"

Jack says "888-555-2387. Good luck."

Tom confidently says "No luck needed. She's coming back alive." Tom hangs up the phone and tells David "Forward that line back to 888-555-2387."

David punches some keys on his laptop. "Done." David then inputs something into his laptop and swings it over so Tom and Mike can see what's on the screen. David says "This is an infra-red satellite snapshot of those coordinates, taken just a few seconds ago. Note the heat signature at the exact spot."

Tom nods. "That has to be Sydney."

Mike examines the map a little longer. "Zoom out a little." David does, and Mike nods affirmatively. "Ok, I know where exactly where this place is. This is a cemetery where a lot of problems in organized crime get 'solved'."

Tom looks over at Mike. "We need you to navigate for us in Cuba. We also need to pick up some shovels before we get to the cemetery."

Mike confidently nods. "Done. There's a hardware shop near the cemetery, we'll stop there first."

Tom looks at Mike a little astonished. "Damn, you DO know Cuba, right down to the mom and pop hardware shops!"

Mike laughs. "And after we're done, we'll go eat at this great Cuban restaurant in downtown Havana. Best sandwiches in the Caribbean, bar none!"

Tom nods. "Good idea, I'm sure Sydney will be starving after we save her."

Mike leans forward and has a cocky smirk, now intent to screw with Tom a bit. "I was thinking that myself. Whatever I can do to help her out."

An ashamed Tom closes his eyes and puts his head back into his palm. "Mike, of all the weaknesses you could have, why does women have to be your worst?"

Mike just laughs, but doesn't say anything, letting Tom stew a bit.

A few seconds later, the pilot chimes in to say that they're approaching Havana and asks the three to put on their seatbelts.

* * *

_**Havana, Cuba** _

A taxi van pulls up in front of an entrance to a cemetery. We see that it's a rather dreary day in Cuba as Tom, Mike, and David pile out of the taxi. The back door pops open and the three grab their shovels and make a break for the cemetery.

Tom, leading the way and in full sprint mode, makes a right turn at the entrance, then starts scanning for fresh graves. Mike and David follow along.

Finally, Mike exclaims "There it is!"

Tom, as he's running, turns to see Mike pointing to the northwest. Tom turns in that direction and sees a fresh grave.

Tom, Mike and David surround the grave and immediately start digging away.

Meanwhile, back at APO, Marshall has a satellite image on one of the bigger screens in the APO conference room. Jack, Sloane, Vaughn, and Nadia are also watching intently on the former Storm Crew members digging out the grave. Nadia looks over at Vaughn, who looks very worried over how Sydney could be doing right now. She reaches over and holds Vaughn's hand. Vaughn looks back at her and smiles a little.

After a few minutes, David clanks his shovel on something hard. "I got something!" As he says that, Mike and Tom clank on something too.

Tom taps on whatever he clanked on. "This is our casket! Quick, dig out the sides so we can get this thing out. David, get on top, we'll need you to help pull this thing out!"

David climbs out of the grave as Tom and Mike dig away at each side of the casket. Finally, Tom and Mike stop digging and toss their shovels out of the grave. They grab the handles on each side.

Tom looks at Mike. "On three...one...two...three!"

Mike and Tom lift up on the casket. David reaches in and grabs a handle at the tail end of the casket and pulls it out while Tom and Mike push. Once the casket is fully out, Tom and Mike climb out of the grave.

Tom goes to the casket and pulls out his Mayan pocket knife. He wedges it between the crude lid and the rest of the casket and starts prying at the lid. He keeps doing this throughout various points of the casket until the lid is popped open enough for Tom to rip the cover open.

Once he rips the lid off and tosses it to the side, Tom immediately sees the dead informant and a lifeless Sydney lying next to him. Tom immediately scoops Sydney up and sets her gently on the ground next to the casket. He puts his fingers on her neck, checking for a pulse. He then leans over and puts his ear on Sydney's chest. Tom then gets a discouraged look on his face. "I've got nothing."

Mike and David look equally discouraged. 

Tom then reaches into his pocket and tosses Mike his cell phone. "Dial the last number I dialed on that phone, that's the number to APO. Keep them apprised of what's going on, I'm going to try CPR."

Mike nods and dials APO as instructed.

On the other line, Jack picks up on the speakerphone and asks "Who is this?"

"This is Mike Walcott, I'm with Tom in Havana."

Jack nods. "Right. This is Jack Bristow."

Tom starts pumping Sydney's chest.

Mike, as he's watching, says "Sydney doesn't have a pulse. Tom's doing CPR."

A pall gets cast over the members in the APO conference room.

Meanwhile, Tom blows into Sydney's lungs for the first time. Nothing.

Tom pumps Sydney's chest and blows into her lungs again. Still nothing.

Tom starts to get exasperated as he starts pumping again. Under his breath, he says "Come on Syd..."

Once again, Tom blows into Sydney's lungs and nothing happens.

Tom is now losing faith as he goes back to pumping Sydney's chest. He yells out "COME ON SYDNEY! WAKE UP!" in frustration.

Everyone in the APO conference room hears this through the phone Mike is holding. Their hearts are starting to sink a little further as well. Vaughn has pulled his hand away from Nadia's and has his hand over his mouth, wondering if this is it for Sydney.

Tom makes another attempt at blowing into Sydney's lungs. After seeing nothing, he reaches over to make another attempt at pumping Sydney's chest.

But, just as he does, Sydney starts coughing. She's alive!

Tom jumps back and lands on the ground, sitting up. Tom looks at Mike and David and frantically starts waving his hands back. "Move back, give her some air!"

Mike and David step back a bit as Sydney sits up, still coughing. Everyone in the conference room is both seeing and hearing this and relief starts to wash over everyone's faces.

Back in Cuba, Sydney finally stops coughing and holds her head, trying to compose herself. After a few seconds, she looks up and sees an astonished and rather dusty Tom Falk looking back at her. All Sydney can muster is a "Hey..."

Tom smirks and says "Welcome back!"

Mike gets back on the cell phone. "Looks like Sydney's ok."

Everyone at APO takes a relieved deep breath at that news. Vaughn and Nadia give each other a hug.

Sydney, hearing Mike's voice, turns to her right and sees Mike and David standing there. "Who are you guys?"

Tom leans forward, still sitting on the ground. "The man with the beard is Mike Walcott, and the man to his right is David Marston. These are my surviving brothers from Storm Crew. We saved your life."

Sydney reaches up to shake Mike's hand. "Thanks guys."

Mike smiles. "No problem. Glad to help."

David then shakes Sydney's hand, but doesn't say anything, being the quiet one of the bunch.

On the phone, Jack tells Mike "Could you give Sydney the phone, please?"

Mike nods and hands the phone to Sydney. "Jack wants to talk to you."

Sydney grabs the phone and puts it to her ear immediately.

As she does, Tom stands up and tells Sydney "I need a word with my friends for a bit." Sydney nods as Tom walks down the row with Mike and David.

Down the row, Tom stops and turns to Mike and David. "Thanks as always for your help. I know this wasn't the sexiest mission in the world, but I couldn't have done this without you guys."

Mike nonchalantly shrugs. "No problem, a friend of yours is a friend of ours."

David nods. "Yeah, plus we haven't been doing anything lately, so it was good to get out and about."

Tom folds his arms. "The CIA has no work for you guys?"

Mike shakes his head. "Not as of late."

Tom looks back at Sydney, who's still talking on the phone. "You know, you two could come work with us at APO. You'd have my support as well as Nadia's, and after today, Sydney's. They're good people and I'm definitely not starving."

David shakes his head immediately while Mike looks non-commital.

David says "My wife doesn't want to uproot and move us and the kids from Baltimore. As much as I'd like working with you on a permanent basis again..."

Tom shakes his head. "No man, I understand. I know Lisa is from Baltimore and she always seemed attached to the city."

Mike, looking at the ground, nods too. "Yeah, I kind of like the freedom I have now. Even though we're not getting a lot of work, we're still making good money. Besides, don't forget the money we saved in the Anti-Cartel..."

Tom nods quickly and holds up his hand, not really wanting to divulge more details of that to David.

"Plus, I'm sure this isn't the last time you'll call on our help."

Tom lets out a disappointed sigh, then understandingly nods. "That's cool. And you'll be well compensated for this mission..."

David's stomach growls and cuts off Tom's train of thought. Tom and Mike both raise an eyebrow as David grabs his stomach. A somewhat embarrassed David says "Man, I knew I should have ate before I came down here."

Mike then pats David on the shoulder. "I'll get you taken care of soon."

Tom then pats David on the shoulder as well.

Mike and Tom then looks at each other with a smirk, realizing something.

Tom and Mike then reach over and complete the arm triangle. Tom leans in and Mike and David follow along, forming a huddle.

Tom smirks and says "It's been over a year and a half since Torino, when Storm Crew as we knew it died. But today, we got the band back together and successfully accomplished our first field mission together since that day." Tom then looks up to the sky a little somber. "This is for you guys...Chris, Eddie, Luke, Charlie, Jacob, and Jerome...wish you could have been here."

Mike says "They were. They're celebrating just like we are now."

Tom looks over at Mike and smiles. "You damn right they are. And they've never forgotten our motto, either. What's our motto again?"

The three of them yell out "STRENGTH AND HONOR!"

Down the row, this makes Sydney jump a bit as she hangs up her phone. She looks on as the three break their huddle and start heading back her way with smiles on their faces.

Tom notices Sydney looking at them curiously. "Hey! You feeling better?"

Sydney smiles, quickly returning back to normal health-wise, and says "Yeah, the headache is going away slowly, but I'm ok. What was with that display of manliness back there?"

Tom, Mike, and David start laughing. Mike, still laughing a bit, says "Before the Argentina mission in 2001, you know, the one where Tom met Nadia, our director at Dark Cover told us 'strength and honor' as his dorky way of wishing good luck. Turns out he was a big Gladiator fan. Anyway, Tom held a vote to make that our team motto and it passed, believe it or not. Much to my surprise, it stuck over the years."

Sydney nods her head and looks over at Tom. "So, that's why your CIA codename is Maximus."

Tom nods. "Exactly."

Mike asks Sydney rather confidently "Are you hungry? I know a great Cuban restaurant down the road..."

Sydney looks at Mike astonished. Something about the way he just asked that... "Did you just try to make a pass at me?"

Tom winces. "Dammit, I should have warned you about him, Sydney. You should have seen the look on his face when I told him you're Nadia's sister on the plane." Tom then looks at Mike with feign frustration. Through his clinched teeth, he says "But I warned him you were off the market..."

Mike is just shaking his head throughout all of this and looks irritated. "Oh come on, Tom! No! I wasn't making a pass! We discussed this on the plane; we all thought she'd be hungry, and I just heard David's stomach roar like we were in the Serengeti! Geez..."

Sydney giggles a bit. "It's alright, I was just kidding. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to take a rain check." Sydney then looks over at Tom. "I need your help in Berlin. I'll explain on the flight there, but we have to leave as soon as possible."

Tom looks over at Mike. "Does this restaurant take carryout orders?"

Mike smirks. "Never bothered to ask, but I know the owner. He'll make an exception if he doesn't."

Sydney nods, knowing that sandwich might be one of the best sandwiches she's ever had, given her hunger. "Ok, we'll stop there, then drop you guys off at the airport. Do you need a charter back to the states? We can arrange that..."

Mike and David both nod their heads. Mike tells her "I could, it'd probably look better if it came from APO."

The four of them then walk off towards the taxi van that Tom, Mike, and David arrived in. And yes, their sandwiches were amazing.

* * *

_Episode note: In the actual episode, this is where Marshall poses as Jack Bristow to Third Faction leader Ulrich Kottor. Shenanigans ensue. While Tom has his meeting with Kottor, Sydney is elsewhere trying to pull information from a server while coaching Tom along, since Tom doesn't have any prior knowledge about Kottor or the Third Faction. But Sydney doesn't know about some of Tom's hidden talents, either._

* * *

_**Berlin** _

Inside Ulrich Kottor's office, the door opens. Kottor lookup and sees a rather confident Tom Falk, who has since changed out of his dirt-covered clothes in Cuba and is now dressed in a rather dashing suit, walk into the room.

As he walks in, Kottor asks "What do you want?"

Tom, not saying anything, walks up and sits down in a chair in front of his desk, without being offered of course. Once he gets comfortable, Tom then starts to speak. "Sir, I have a tape that you might find rather useful to you."

Kotter has no idea who Tom even is at this point, and the look on his face says as much. "Who are you?"

Tom shakes his head. "My name is not important, what's important..."

A testy Kotter asks "I insist on knowing your name."

Tom thinks for a moment, and after not hearing Sydney's voice in his ear, plainly says "Edward Landry."

Kotter, now satisfied apparently that he's not anyone he knows would be an enemy, asks "What information do you have on this tape of yours?"

Tom gets a smirk on his face. "I have information on the men you control. I know at least one of them has a big mouth."

Sydney reassuringly says through Tom's earpiece "You're doing fine."

Kotter asks "What men is he talking about, my club staff?"

Tom laughs, then quickly snaps into a serious face. "Please, like I'd waste your time on that. Do the words Third Faction mean anything to you? Because I kept hearing those words a lot in this tape I have of them."

Sydney tells him sternly "Cool it on the Third Faction talk."

Tom is unfazed. "Now, I have this tape, and it's going out to the highest bidder...unless we can work out something here."

"That's fine, keep that going for two minutes." Sydney says through the earpiece.

Kotter, still trying to put on a defiant face, asks "What would you have to gain by selling this tape?"

Tom smirks. "Oh, to a guy like you, it wouldn't seem like much. But me..." Tom casually sits back in his chair and puts his hands behind his head in a relaxing position. "...I just like to sit back and watch the world burn. Now, say I auction this tape off to someone you hate...then I'll get to enjoy seeing the rabid dogs go after each others' throat from way off in the distance. But, if we work out a deal, then maybe you just do some internal housecleaning. Either way...I win. Now, the victory wouldn't be as sweet if I sold you this tape, but I'm not a man without mercy. Consider this meeting a courtesy."

Kotter makes an assumption and blankly says "My men would never shoot their mouth to the government."

Tom raises an eyebrow and leans back forward. "What makes you think I, or the men on my tape, are with the government?"

"Because only the government would be so cavalier like you, barging to my office, making accusations about my men, trying playing one side against the other."

"In case you haven't noticed, the U.S. Government doesn't do a lot of things well. They can't manage a budget, they have problems reacting to natural disasters, and many people have trouble even getting their own mail." Kotter looks at Tom blankly as he continues his rant. "But, one thing the government does well is being wolves in sheep clothing. Look at our politicians for instance, they'll flash you a Hollywood smile and tell you they're all about the people while they're taking special interest money on the side."

Sydney can't help but be surprised at Tom right now. "I had no idea you were so political."

Tom finishes his rant. "Even the best men sometimes don't know they're talking to a government official."

Kotter continues to stare blankly and then asks "Why did you come to ME with this?"

Tom leans back in his chair, relaxed. "You're all over that tape. They even go as far as to identify you by your first AND last name. How else do you think I found you?"

Sydney tells Tom "You need to get that cigarette case closer to the laptop, we're not getting anything."

Tom pulls out the case from his front pocket and waves it in front of Kotter. "You look tense. Would you like a cigarette?"

Kotter flatly says "No."

Tom smiles. "Good man. I don't smoke the stuff myself, but when I'm out in a club, it never fails to get asked for a cigarette by a beautiful woman." Tom then casually tosses the case near Kotter's laptop.

Sydney then gets back in Tom's ear. "Tom, tell him that they wouldn't sell out to the government, but they would sell out to the Slobodon Wolves."

Tom listens, leans forward again, in full trust of Sydney's information. "Anyway, I've done my homework, and you're right. Your men are smart enough to sniff out a government guy after a while. But, there's nothing stopping them from talking to the Slobodon Wolves."

Kotter tries to hide his anger, but it isn't working. He asks "Who is talking to them?"

Sydney says a man's name, which Tom relays to Kotter. "In this case, it was a man named Dietrich Gustav. Come on, do you really think I would come here if it as a low level flunkie that was flapping his gums?"

"Dietrich only speaks German. How would you understand what he's saying?"

Tom forms a cocky smirk and responds, in perfect German "Ich datiert ein deutscher Austauschschüler in der 11 Klasse. Sie lehrte mich mehr über die deutsche Maschinenbau als jeder Mechaniker!" (I dated a German exchange student in the 11th grade. She taught me more about German engineering than any mechanic!)

Sydney laughs, both in surprise of Tom's knowledge of German as well as his profession of love for, um, German engineering. "I didn't need to hear that!"

Tom just laughs.

Sydney smiles, then she hears from Vaughn that there's a problem with the files Tom is sending.

Meanwhile, Kotter leans forward and tells Tom "Ok, let me see this tape of yours then."

Sydney tells Tom "You need to get him down to the computer down in the club basement. We need Kotter's eyeball for an optic scan."

Tom listens to the information, raises an eyebrow, which Kotter interprets as intrigue rather than surprise. Tom then tells Kotter "I'll get you your tape, it's nearby. Then I'll come back and we'll finish our business in a secure location. Does this club have a basement?"

A surprised Kotter asks "Why would you want to meet in a basement?"

Tom stands up from his chair. "As a sign of good faith. If I was lying, why would I want to go to a place where I can't get out of easily? Call it a test."

"Fine. Be down there in five minutes."

"That won't be a problem" Tom says as he picks up his cigarette case. He looks back at Kotter, holds up the case and says "I might bump into someone I like down in your club!" Tom then laughs as he walks towards the exit of Kotter's office.

* * *

Downstairs, Tom meets Sydney in a secluded area in the club.

A delightfully surprised Sydney says "You were absolutely brilliant up there! I thought you said you haven't done much espionage before!"

Tom nods his head. "You're right, I haven't. I've always wanted to, though. Plus, you gave me good stuff to work with, it got me through."

"Edward Landry? Where did that come from?"

Tom quickly replies "My grandfather that raised me...that was his name. Anyway, how do you suggest we handle our meet downstairs?"

"You set it up perfectly. Give me a cigarette." Tom hands her one out of his case as she continues. "I'll accompany you down as your 'friend' you met at the club. The only problem is how do we get Kotter to submit to an optical scan?"

Tom gets an evil smirk on his face. "I've got that covered."

Sydney nods, picking up on what Tom's alluding to. "Alright, let's go." Then the two walk to the elevator. A door man stops them.

Tom intently says "I'm here to talk to your boss in the basement". The doorman nods lets him through.

In the elevator, Tom tells Sydney "Look, he's going to want to know who you are and what you're doing here. I'll have you start talking to him, and while you do that, I'll take care of him."

Sydney looks over at Tom after he says 'take care of him'. She has an idea of what he means here, but before she can ask, the elevator door opens.

Kotter is standing outside the door. He immediately notices Sydney and asks "Who's this?"

Tom looks at Sydney. "Funny story, why don't you tell him, my lovely?"

Tom walks to the side of Kotter as Sydney holds up her cigarette and starts saying in her best German valley girl impression "Well, I was at the bar and I needed a cigarette, and this nice man..."

Tom cuts her off by giving Kotter one hard sucker punch from the side! Tom can feel Kotter's jawbone smash upon impact.

Kotter lands on the ground, and we see a few teeth lying next to his mouth. Sydney is shocked at Kotter's limp body, the teeth, and she looks back at Tom with that shocked look.

Tom just smirks as he rubs and admires his right fist. "You know, having a titanium fist has its advantages!"

Sydney nods, a little speechless over Tom's punching power. "Yes, I can see this."

Tom drags the man to an optical scanner and lifts the man's face to the scanner and opens his right eye. It's scanned, Tom and Sydney go in, get their information, and leave undetected.

Mission accomplished.

* * *

_**In front of Tom's apartment, the next morning** _

Sydney and Tom are parked in front of Tom's apartment, talking to APO as the sun starts to rise behind them.

On Sydney's speakerphone, we hear Jack say "Tom, on behalf of everyone at APO, thank you for your excellent work."

Tom smirks and says "Not a problem. One of the first things I learned in the CIA was that it's easy to have the back of a friend. I'm just glad Sydney's ok."

Sydney smiles at that as we hear Sloane say "Not just for that, but for your work in Berlin as well. Sounds like you handled yourself well with the limited information you had to go with."

"Sydney was a big help. Plus, I just appreciate having the opportunity to do things like that. I hope I have earned this division's full confidence now."

Sydney answers for everyone else at APO. "You have."

Tom chuckles a bit at Sydney. "I appreciate that." Tom then turns back to the phone. "How long is the lockdown still in effect?"

Jack says "About 14 more hours."

Tom smirks. "Tell Nadia that I'm sorry I missed dinner last night. Something came up."

Sydney laughs and puts her hand over her mouth.

On the phone, Nadia yells "It's ok! Work had me tied up ALL night!"

Tom laughs at that. Sloane breaks up the happy moment. "After the lockdown is over, everyone has the rest of the day off. I think I speak for everyone here when I say that the last 24 hours have been draining on all of us. I think we all would like to sleep our beds again. Sydney...Tom...I'll see you tomorrow."

Sydney says "Later" and hangs up. She looks over at Tom with a sincere look on her face, which has Tom a little alarmed.

"What's up?" Tom asks, a little curious over the look Sydney is giving him.

Sydney just smiles and says "I can't thank you enough for saving my life today."

Tom shakes his head and looks down at the floorboard bashfully. "Don't worry about it..."

Sydney then leans over and says "Tom, I know it's not your style, but it's ok to take credit for something! Really, I'm so grateful for what you did today."

Tom looks at Sydney and, equally sincere as Sydney just was, says "You're welcome. But, I do have to give credit where credit is due. I couldn't have saved you without my friends from Storm Crew."

Sydney sits back in her seat. "I wish there was a way we could bring them into APO. They'd be a huge help..."

Tom shakes his head as he cuts her off. "I had the same idea while you talked with Jack on the phone in Cuba. David has a wife and two kids and he doesn't want to uproot his family. Meanwhile, I remember Mike was starting to get really down during the last days at Dark Cover, being tied down to one division. They're both happy with being freelancers. When I asked if they'd be interested in joining APO, they both declined for those reasons. I know Mike has been griping about not getting as much work as he usually gets lately, so maybe we can toss him some more stuff to do now and then."

Sydney thinks for a bit, then asks "So, what IS up with Mike?"

Tom looks at her suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

Sydney, still with an inquisitive look on her face, says "I mean, I'm pretty sure he DID make a pass at me in Cuba..."

Tom rolls his eyes. "I've known Mike for almost 14 years now, we both started out at about the same time in the Anti-Cartel. And for the entire 14 year run I've known him, he still hasn't found 'the one'. Sadly, I think he's getting desperate."

Sydney laughs a bit. "Actually, Mike does seem like a nice guy. I wish there was someone I knew that was single...I'd help him out."

Tom laughs. "I know you would, Sydney. But, I've tried to help him for years...at this point, I think he's hopeless."

Sydney laughs again, then gets a sincere look on her face. "Well, I have to return the favor for you saving my life somehow."

Tom smiles and shakes his head. "Just keep being there for Nadia. That's how you can repay me."

Sydney then says "You and Nadia...I have to admit, it's fun seeing you two together. It's like you both bring the inner child out of each other."

Tom chuckles a bit and says "I find our relationship kind of amazing myself. I mean, think about it: we've both gone through hell in our lives, especially just in the past year or two. But, chance reunites us in a place we both weren't exactly seeking to work at. And in the end, two people who have seen so much darkness in their lives...make each other light up and give each other the inner peace they seek. Sydney, she makes me so happy...and I think I make her just as happy. And you've been great as well. You know...making the move to APO was easily the best decision I've made in my life. I feel re-born working here." Tom then looks back down at the floorboard, a sign that he's somewhat embarrassed. Then, all of the sudden, he forms a smile on his face and looks back at Sydney. "By the way, I have to warn you about something regarding Nadia."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. Nadia might be staying at my place more often..."

Sydney nods. "I know, she told me before the Minsk mission..."

"No, she's serious about it this time. She hasn't been staying me and when I asked her, she told me she was worried about overstaying her welcome with me."

Sydney lets out a bit of a laugh. "She told me everything, Tom and she probably gave you the same scared look on her face. Look, I like having her over. She's very tidy and a really good cook. She's a BIG help in both those regards for me. But I think it'd be good if you two spent more time together. You two are good for each other."

Tom smiles. "She's the best...and lord knows I could use her cooking help." The two share a laugh over that. Then Tom says "You know, the vending machines at APO aren't all that great, and that's all Vaughn and Nadia have had to eat for the past day. I think after we rescue our loved ones from lockdown, we should take them out to Kitchen 24 for dinner and drinks."

Sydney thinks for a bit. "That's the place you took Nadia that one night..."

Tom nods. "Yep, cheap drinks, good food, and according to Vaughn, great danishes. I've been meaning to take him up on that promise one of these days."

Sydney gives Tom a playful smile. "It's a date! I'll pick you up in 14 hours then!"

Tom smiles back. "Ok. Go get some sleep, I know you need it. I'll see you then."

Tom then starts to get out of the car, but is stopped by Sydney saying "Wait!"

Tom stops what he's doing and sits back in his seat. "What is it?"

Sydney then leans over and gives Tom a warm hug, which Tom happily returns. Sydney then tells Tom "Thanks again for saving my life. I'll never forget this."

Still hugging, Tom says "I know you'd do the same for me. Thank for being a good friend." The two then release the hug.

Tom opens the car door again and starts to step out. As he does, Sydney says "Get some sleep yourself!" Tom smirks as he closes the door and waves. Sydney then drives off.

Tom stands on the curb and watches Sydney drive off down the street. After a few seconds, he turns and heads towards his apartment.

As he's walking, he recalls the day's events in his mind. From something as simple as the tango with Nadia over the car stereo to getting to go on a mission with his Storm Crew friends again...to something as important saving Sydney's life, and then getting to participate in a little espionage mission, something he really hadn't done much of before. All in one day.

He gets to his door and stops. Staring at the door, but really off into space, he says to no one in particular "Man, I love this job."

It really was a great day for him. But in due time, Nadia would make good on her promise to stay at his place...and top this good day by a mile.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	12. She'll Think I'm Crazy

_Time period of chapter: Season 4, Episode 14 (The Nightingale episode with Syd and Vaughn)_

_Warning: I don't think I go anywhere near the line between a T rating and an M rating in this chapter. However, some of the writing in this chapter is a little...different than my normal style up to this point. You'll know what I'm talking about when you read it. Really trying not to spoil anything here..._

* * *

_**Tom's Apartment** _

The front door opens, banging on the wall as Tom walks in carrying a big box. No one else is in the apartment except him. Another lonely night. No, Nadia isn't being coy with him again. She told Tom she had to work late.

On the TV, there is a hockey game being played. However, Tom's not too focused on the game. Rather, he's more interested in the contents of his box. As he sets down the box in an open space near the front door, we see on the side that it says "Pictures".

Tom takes off his suit jacket from work as well as his tie and just tosses them on the couch. He also takes his dress shirt off, revealing a tank top underneath. He's not a classically buff guy, but he's no weakling, either. He works out a little, just enough to keep a decent tone. But he was naturally built to be a little stocky and sturdy. Tom's also been told he'd probably do himself a lot of good losing 10 pounds or so. He's not really fat, just soft in the gut while keeping an extra layer on the rest of his body. But his body type wouldn't be the first thing you notice about him. It's the scars that run up and down his body like some twisted roadmap. Those scars used to make him uncomfortable, but since Nadia accepts them and everyone knows they exist (and why they exist), he's not bothered by them anymore. He'd rather not have them so he could feel normal in public again, though.

Tom takes a look at the walls of the apartment, which have nothing on them. Even though he's been with APO for a few months, he hasn't hung any pictures. "No better time like the present" he mutters as he walks to the kitchen.

He opens up a cabinet drawer and pulls out an old hammer along with some nails. He walks back over to the box and opens it. Inside the box, we see some pictures of various sizes.

Tom reaches in and pulls out one of the larger pictures. He immediately smiles as he sees what the picture is. It's him, along with 9 others in a row in an office. Mike and David, his friends from Storm Crew, are also in the picture, along with 7 others lined up in a row.Underneath the picture, a nameplate says "Storm Crew – 2001".

Tom sets the picture down and grabs a hammer along with a nail and walks over to an empty space between the front door and the entrance to his bedroom. He quickly pounds a nail in the wall. He then grabs his Storm Crew picture and hangs it where he put the nail.

He adjusts it a bit so it's level, then stands back and looks at it. After a few seconds, he looks satisfied. Smiling, he says "Good to see you again, guys." He's talking to six of the seven guys in the picture...the ones whose graves he visited every day in Baltimore after they died in Torino.

Tom walks back over to his box and squats down to grab another picture. However, just as he does, he hears a knock on the door.

Tom looks over and raises an eyebrow. He wasn't expecting company tonight. In fact, no one except for Nadia ever comes over to his apartment. Sydney's place is better suited for visitors, being nicer, bigger, and closer to work. Tom's just fine with that. He prefers solitude on the weekend, anyway, if he can't be with his wife/girlfriend.

Tom walks over to the peephole in the door and looks out. Immediately, he sees Nadia in the pink long-sleeve shirt and jeans she wore in the actual Nightingale episode standing there, holding a pizza in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.

Immediately, Tom looks away from the peephole and looks surprised. Nadia said she was working late! Now, she's standing at his doorstep dressed as casually as possible! Was it her intent to surprise him?

Before he can come up with an answer to that question, we hear Nadia outside say "I see your shadow under the door! I know you're in there!"

Tom winces. He's in his white tank top and dress slacks and he can't let her see him like this. Tom quickly glances over to the couch, where his work clothes still sit. As he springs towards the couch, he yells "HANG ON!"

Unfortunately for Tom, he forgets his box of pictures is on the floor between the door and couch. He trips on the box and falls to the floor. A loud "THUD" is heard outside.

Nadia, a little concerned now, asks "What was that?" Her first instinct is wondering if he passed out or had a heart attack.

Tom quickly gets up from the floor and just says "Nothing, hang on!" Tom reaches over to the couch and quickly throws on his dress shirt.

As he's buttoning it up, he hears a very impatient Nadia say "Alright, that's it! I'm coming in!"

"NO! WAIT!"

Too late. He can hear Nadia using her key to unlock the deadbolt on the door. Tom quickly finishes buttoning his dress shirt and frantically tucks it in to his pants. As she starts unlocking the actual doorknob, Tom quickly throws on his suit jacket. He gets it on just as Nadia flings open the door.

Tom tries to play cool. But it doesn't work. Nadia takes one look at Tom's disheveled appearance and starts laughing.

Tom throws out his arms. "I don't look that bad!"

Nadia keeps laughing as she picks up the wine bottle. "I knew surprising you was going to work!" 

As Nadia walks in, Tom, who appears to have calmed down, opens his eyes wide and lets out a "Well, at least you look beautiful...and what's that you got in your hands?" Tom then pinches himself, then slaps himself across the face.

Nadia gives him a funny look as she kick-closes the door behind her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just checking to make sure I'm not dreaming! The woman of my dreams is holding a pizza from my favorite pizza place in one hand and a bottle of my favorite wine in the other!"

Nadia lets out a flattered laugh. "If this is a dream, would you ever want to wake up?"

Tom just shakes his head, awestruck at the awesomeness that is Nadia right now.

Nadia giggles a bit, then walks over to Tom and and leans in for a kiss, which Tom happily accommodates.

After they kiss for a few seconds, they break up the kiss and Tom looks down at his clothes a little ashamed. "I'd be so much better dressed if I knew you were coming over!"

As Nadia walks towards the kitchen, she says with a big grin "I said wanted to surprise you! Plus, Sydney and Vaughn are going out of town for the weekend and it feels weird being in Sydney's place by myself."

Tom chuckles. "So, you come over to the friendly, yet smaller and more basic confines of your boyfriend's apartment."

Nadia sets down the pizza and wine and looks back at Tom a little playfully irritated, with one hand on her hip as she leans on the counter. "I'm not going to be a problem, am I?"

Tom gives her a reassuring smile. "Absolutely not! Especially if you come over bearing such wonderful gifts like this..."

Nadia grins and looks down at the floor all flattered. She says "Well, you always do such nice things for me, and I like doing nice things for you! I know this isn't like going down to Argentina to pick up a soccer program for me, but..."

Tom cuts her off as he walks up to her. Nadia looks back up as Tom tells her "You repay my gratitude every single day you're in my life. My love comes with only one obligation..." Tom then reaches out and grabs Nadia's shoulders gently. "Just keep being you."

Nadia gives Tom another flattered smile. "You say the most wonderful things too...that's another reason I like coming here and being with you!"

With a laugh, Tom says a little ashamed "Well, it's certainly not for the artistic qualities of this place!"

Nadia laughs back, then looks over Tom's shoulder towards the box on the ground and the Storm Crew picture he just hung. "I see you're making some headway on that at least. Maybe I can give you a hand with your pictures while I'm here."

Tom looks back at the box and nods. "Yeah, I could use your help! I figured it was time to give this place some character finally."

"Why are you just now putting up pictures? You've been here for a few months."

Tom looks back at Nadia with a serious look on his face. "For a while, I wasn't sure I'd last long at APO. But now, I think I'm in this for the long haul."

Nadia looks at him a little quizzically. "Why did you think you'd have trouble fitting in?"

"I don't know..." Tom looks down at the ground. "I guess because this division is a different beast compared to where I've worked before. My duties in the Anti-Cartel and Dark Cover were both more focused on tactical operations, while APO is more cloak-and-dagger." Tom then looks back up at Nadia. "Plus, for a while there, I thought I was going to strangle your father." Tom gives Nadia a wide and sarcastic closed smile as he says that last part.

After she finishes giggling at that last part, Nadia tells Tom "I have to go back out to the car and grab my clothes. I was going to stay here for the weekend, if that's ok with you."

Tom wants to to a backflip. He's been hoping for this for a while! But, Tom quickly composes himself, opens up the pizza box and grabs a slice of pizza. "Only if you sit with me and at least try to watch the rest of the hockey game I have on the TV tonight."

Nadia folds her arms a little irritated. "Tom, you know I hate hockey! And I thought you said your love for me had no obligations?"

Tom takes a big, almost obnoxious chomp of his pizza, feeling rather cocky at the moment. He enjoys pushing her buttons just to get a rise out of her. "You're right. But watching the game is an obligation if you want to stay here this weekend! Besides, you get off light, there's only one period left."

Nadia looks over at the TV, then sighs and looks back at Tom with a sheepish smirk. "I guess I can handle one period of hockey."

"Well, you don't have to sound so enthused about it!"

Nadia just gives Tom a playful slap on the shoulder as she walks by Tom to go get her stuff from the car. As she's walking towards the front door, she stops and yells back, with a smile on her face "But no rock music, though! If I hear Metallica, I'm going back to Sydney's and spending the weekend by myself!"

Tom, leaning on the counter and enjoying his pizza, just smiles and says "You drive a hard bargain! But I'll take it!"

Nadia smirks back at Tom as she walks out the front door.

* * *

_**Tom's Apartment, 5 minutes later** _

Tom and Nadia have now found their way to the couch and are enjoying their wine and pizza while the hockey game is on TV. Tom has since changed into a plain white shirt and cargo khaki shorts and looks much more comfortable. Both of them are sitting pretty close to one another, dead center of the couch right in front of the TV and coffee table.

Nadia finishes her bite of pizza and looks back at the TV, where one player just checked another into the boards. "Why do they have to hit each other like that? I mean, it just seems like pointless violence to me."

Tom thinks for a bit, then says "I'll tell you why hockey players hit each other when you tell me why soccer players act like they got shot when they get tapped on the shoulder or leg."

Nadia points a playful finger at Tom. "First of all, sir, it's futbol!" As Tom rolls his eyes, Nadia continues her lecture. "Second, at least futbol players don't start throwing off their gloves and punching each other like a bunch of apes!"

"Ha! They let their fans do that in the stands!"

Nadia laughs. She really doesn't have a comeback for that. "Ok, I'll give you that!"

A smiling Tom then picks up his glass of wine from the table and takes a sip. When he's done, he looks at Nadia a little curious. "Where did you find this wine? It's usually hard to find a bottle of Chardonel outside of Missouri."

Nadia's smile gets erased as she looks down. She sets down her pizza on her plate and sets the plate on the table. Still looking down, she timidly says "Please don't be angry with me..."

Tom cocks his head, confused. He can't fathom why he would get angry with her. "Nadia, I went through an Argentinian gangster to get your soccer program, and you weren't mad at me...so, why would I be mad with your wine source?"

Nadia looks at Tom with a scared look. "Because my wine source is your sister."

Tom's confused look turns into a shocked one. How in the hell does Nadia know his estranged sister? "WHAT?! When did you talk to...wait, how did you  _even know_  how to contact my sister Karen?"

Nadia sits back on the couch. She was afraid he'd react like this. "Tom, you said you weren't going to get angry with me!"

"I'm not angry...I'm just shocked! How in the world do you know my sister?"

Nadia lets out a deep breath. "Do you remember when I stayed over that one night last week?

"Yeah, the day after I could finally rescue you from lockdown at APO!"

Nadia cracks a small smile. She was relieved to see him finally, along with the outside world. "She called your cell phone while you were in the shower. I answered and we talked a bit until you got done showering. I got her number and I called her back the next day and we had a nice talk. She seems like such a sweetheart."

Tom looks away from Nadia and sets his wine glass down while he shakes his head in disbelief. "Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"Because, after Karen told me why you two don't talk anymore, I was afraid you'd be angry with me. But, you should know something about your sister..." Tom slowly turns and looks at her, still in disbelief. Nadia places her hand on Tom's knee. "Karen loves you. And she's sorry for whatever she said to you the last time you talked, when you refused to pay for your father's funeral." Tom closes his eyes. That was not exactly his finest hour. "Karen says she understands what your father put you through, and she's sorry she held your hate for him against you for so long."

Tom opens his eyes again, but stares forward in the distance. "Do you know what my father put me through? I don't remember if I ever told you."

"Karen told me. He abandoned you three and had an alcohol problem for most of the rest of his life."

Tom turns away again, digesting what Nadia just said. After a few seconds, he sighs and says "I've always been jealous of my sister. She was close with my dad before he went to Vietnam...and before he became an alcoholic. Apparently, he was a good man...a downright respectable man before the war. But, the shock of the war was too much for him to handle. He convinced my mother to have have another child." Tom turns back to Nadia. "I'm that child. And it wouldn't be a few months after I was born that my mother died in a car wreck, getting baby formula for me from the store. That was a good source of my angst growing up. She died for me, Nadia. I couldn't ever get past that. I still can't."

Nadia squeeze's Tom's knee, but looks saddened at the story. "I'm so sorry, Tom."

Tom then forms a hurt scowl on his face. "But, the fact that my own father dumped me, my brother, and Karen on my mom's parents because he loved the bottle more than his own children...I've never forgiven him for that. I wasn't an orphan like you were, because at least he dumped me on family, but I felt very unwanted growing up like you did. But no matter how upset I'd get over him, Karen would always stand up for him, and that always was a point of contention between us. Not long before the Torino mission, my dad died of liver failure, a result of his years of not giving a single shit about himself. And when Karen came to me seeking help burying him, I said some awful things to her. In fact..." Tom hangs his head in shame. "...Karen didn't even do anything wrong. She was going through some financial problems and she turned to her family for help, as well she should have. But, my hate for my father outweighed my desire to help her, and I ended up alienating her from the one brother she has left..." Tom then sits back himself, troubled over what he just told. He's not proud of himself at all over what he did to Karen.

Nadia looks a little somber herself. She wonders if she overstepped her boundaries here. This was clearly something that hit a nerve with Tom, and even though they are falling deeper in love with one another, they don't even live with each other yet. For the same reason she was afraid of wearing out her welcome, she now wonders if she went too far.

Tom then looks back over at Nadia. "You did nothing wrong either."

Nadia shakes her head, not feeling very relieved. "No, I probably should have told you earlier...I mean, it's your family. Karen sent the wine because she knew you would like it and maybe, just maybe she thought the wine along with myself could convince you to talk to her. She misses you, Tom, and she wants you to know that you don't need to be afraid to call her. She figures you're avoiding her because of what happened the last time you talked."

Tom gives Nadia a faint smile and rubs her shoulder a bit. "You convinced me. I'll give her a call sometime. How is she, by the way?"

Nadia shrugs. "She seemed ok on the phone. She's actually quite nice, and she was happy that you found love again after your ex-wife left you."

Tom laughs at that. "If she only knew the connection me and you share..."

Nadia smiles wide at that, but doesn't say anything.

Tom then looks down and grabs Nadia's hand. "Speaking of which...you know where I stand on what we were injected with. I want so bad to believe what we have is real. But, I've never asked your thoughts on it. Do you think our love for each other is real?"

Nadia's smile erases as she looks away in thought. She searches her heart, and her heart tells her to just go with it. She's so happy with him, sometimes she wonders if it's real or not. But like the song says, if loving him is wrong, she doesn't want to be right. She looks back at Tom and smiles again. "I think 'The Connection' was a blessing. All my life, I've never felt a love this strong, and I love the way I feel just knowing you're in my life. When I wake up in the morning, whether you're by my side or not...just knowing that someone loves me the way you do makes me so happy to just be alive. And if our love isn't real, then I don't want to know what real feels like." Nadia then scoots closer to Tom and lightly grabs the back of Tom's head with her right hand. With a heartfelt look on her face and while looking deeply and downright lustfully into Tom's eyes, she says "I love you so much."

Tom gently smiles back and softly says "I love you, too. And I always will. I'm your guy, and you're my gal." 

Nadia lets out an excited and happy laugh at that.

Tom then lightly puts his right hand on the back of Nadia's head. Together, they gently pull each others' heads closer and kiss each other softly. And again. And again. And again.

Nadia then leans forward, forcing Tom backwards on the couch. The hockey game, the pizza, the wine, Tom's box of pictures...all of that has become irrelevant to the make-out session the two are having.

As he's kissing her from his back, Tom realizes this make-out session feels different. The kisses are softer...slower, more sensual than usual. It just feels...right.

After about a minute of Nadia making out with him while on top, Nadia then slowly moves her head and starts kissing the side of Tom's neck. Tom returns the favor by kissing Nadia's neck as well.

And then it happens.

After a few seconds of neck-kissing, Nadia puts her mouth outside of Tom's ear and whispers seductively "I want you..." She follows this by lightly caressing Tom's face, and then Tom's chest, allowing her hands to run over the bumps caused by his scars.

Tom's eyebrows shoot up like he just stubbed his toe on the edge of a dresser, but doesn't break his make-out momentum as he processes what Nadia just whispered. It doesn't take very long for him to figure out what she meant.

Still making out with Nadia, he rises up to a sitting position, and then he stands up. As he's leaning over and still compulsively making out with Nadia, he picks her up, which causes Nadia's eyes to bug out a bit and an astonished smile to form on her face.

But, the make-out session continues uninterrupted. Now, Nadia's legs are wrapped around Tom as he holds her up with his hands on her butt. Tom carefully walks around the couch and towards the bedroom door. But, instead of walking through the bedroom door, he takes a detour to a table he has set up with a stereo on it. Tom finally breaks the make-out session to look down at the stereo.

Nadia kept kissing the side of Tom's face at first, but looks a little confused that the kissing has ended from him the moment. Finally, she stops, looks down and sees what Tom is doing. Tom pulls out a CD and puts it in the slot. Nadia groans and looks extremely discouraged. "Come on, please no heavy rock music..."

Tom looks at her and gives her a wide grin. He gives her a reassuring kiss, then says in a calm, playful voice, he says "Now, I'm going to play the best love-making album ever made. If you don't like it, then I might just kick you out of my apartment."

Nadia grins widely back and seductively wraps her arms back around Tom, leaning in to touch her forehead with his. "You couldn't get rid of me if you tried..."

Tom grins at that and, still holding Nadia up with his right arm, he hits a few buttons on the stereo with his left hand, then hits the play button on the front of the stereo. The sound of a CD spinning is heard, followed by the opening guitar riffs of The Beatles' "Something (In The Way She Moves)".

Tom looks back at Nadia with a wide smile. The smile is returned with an equally wide one from Nadia. Clearly, she approves of Tom's music choice. Even though she wouldn't call them one of her favorites, she does like The Beatles and agrees that Abbey Road is a fabulous choice for love-making.

Then, the soft kisses resume as Tom takes Nadia into the bedroom and...

Well, we can all imagine what happens from here.

* * *

_**Tom's bedroom, 45 minutes later** _

" _Sheer...freaking...ecstasy."_

That's all Tom can come up with in his mind as he lies in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He's pretty exhausted, but so many happy feelings were coursing throughout his body, that it was hard to find the correct word or phrase to describe them all. The Beatles' 'Abbey Road' album has long stopped playing...not that Tom noticed...or cared.

Tom looks over to his right and sees Nadia has a similar exhausted, yet extremely satisfied look on her face as she lies under the covers. What they just did was very, very satisfying for her, too.

Nadia looks over at Tom herself, gives him a seductive, if not a bit mischevious smile. She then rolls over and lies on Tom's belly and chest. She crosses her arms on Tom's chest, then rests her head on her hands while she spreads out on Tom's body. Almost immediately, she starts softly running her fingers along the scar that runs along Tom's collarbone. The scars didn't turn her off at all while they had sex. In fact, they give Tom a bit of a rough and rugged look, which she can appreciate. 

Tom looks at Nadia lift up her eyes and lock eyes with with his. She is practically glowing as she stares into Tom's eyes. Her smile seems as wide as the sea, and her eyes as open and inviting as ever. She is almost...angelic right now.

Tom lifts up his left arm and lightly brushes Nadia's cheek with his fingers, partly because he loves the softness of her skin, but also just to make sure she is even real, and not an angel. Smiling widely, he says "My God, look at you...you are so beautiful, Nadia. I don't think my eyes have ever seen something so beautiful as you are right now."

Nadia gives Tom a flattered smile, then returns the favor by running her fingers through Tom's hair. "And you're so handsome right now. I don't think I've ever seen you so...blissful before!"

Tom lets out a small chuckle and says "I've never had sex that great before."

Nadia lets out a few giggles, then gives Tom's chest a kiss. "It was great for me, too. We really do go great together, don't we?" Nadia starts laughing at the end.

"We sure do. I meant it before, but I really mean it now: you continue to amaze me, Nadia."

Nadia gives Tom a wide grin, knowing exactly what he meant. She feels downright triumphant right now, having satisfied him so much. Even though Tom doesn't come off as a guy that is classically sexy, the way he holds her, touches her, and makes her feel loved, along with the fact that he's actually pretty easy on the eyes despite how he views himself, makes Tom very, very appealing to her. And she's glad that she can make him as happy as he makes her. She loves that duality they have. In fact, she can't help but feel a little remorseful now, as she looks down at Tom's collarbone scar and runs her fingers along it again. "Kind of makes you wish we had done this earlier, right?" Nadia looks at Tom with a bit of a disappointed look after saying that. Tom has been such a gentleman around her, even though they have slept next to each other a few times by now. He never pushed the issue. And Nadia, being so afraid of overstepping her boundaries with him, never pushed the issue when she really did want to. 

Tom looks away from Nadia a bit, thinking. But, he's still got a wide smile on his face, and there's no way it's coming off. He looks back at Nadia. "You're right. But, we do have the weekend to make up for lost time..."

Nadia giggles a bit at that, the prospect of more time in bed with Tom exciting her. "Now, aren't you glad I came over?"

Tom grins as he rolls his eyes. "I was happy you came over before, I was just kidding! You're so cute when you're angry!"

Nadia, still beaming, can't help but giggle at that, too. "Oh Tom..." Nadia gives Tom another kiss on the chest. "I guess we should both thank Sydney and Vaughn for going on a vacation, and I should thank you for allowing me into your home."

Tom strokes Nadia's beautiful jet-black hair back, one of many things he adores about her. "Nadia, you know you're welcome here anytime. In fact..." Tom pauses for a bit, now a bit afraid to ask what he's going to ask.

Nadia notices Tom's trepidation and, her never-ending smile suddenly vanishing, asks "What is it?"

Tom, with a sincere look on his face, looks deeply into Nadia's eyes. "I...wish I could be with you all the time. In fact, the more and more our love grows...the more and more I wish we would just leave APO, find ourselves a little bungalow on the beach, and just live out our lives together, without the specter of Rambaldi or the CIA or anything like that in our lives." Nadia now looks somewhat very intrigued as Tom keeps going. "What if we both just said 'screw fate' and took this great gift we were injected with and use it to just live our lives and grow old together? I mean, if this prophecy comes to fruition, you or Sydney are going to die...and I like you both too much, and if I ever lost you...I wouldn't know what to do with myself. Nothing else matters to me except you." Tom finally stops and anxiously awaits Nadia's reaction.

Nadia ponders what Tom said for a bit, then looks back at him with a concerned look. "Tom, you're such a big part of my life, too. And everything you said sounds great...but, it's just not realistic. I mean, what would we do for money?"

Tom looks back up at the ceiling and sighs. Time to let out a big, and risky secret. "Nadia, I trust you. Can you keep a secret? I mean, a MAJOR secret that cannot in any way, shape, or form ever get back to the CIA?"

Now, Nadia looks really concerned. "Well, yeah, but...what is it?"

Tom looks back at Nadia with a serious expression on his face. "During my time in the Anti-Cartel, raiding cartels were our bread and butter. And more often then not, we would confiscate cash...thousands upon thousands of dollars in cash each raid. Well...I wasn't exactly honest with what I reported was confiscated..."

Nadia looks like she sees where this is going. "You took some of the money for yourself?"

Tom nods slowly. "Depends on your definition of 'some'. All of us skimmed money and set ourselves up for the next stage of life after the CIA. I have two safehouses in Mexico...one near Tijuana and the other down in the Yucatan. Only Mike Walcott knows where they are besides myself. Inside those safehouses, I have guns, ammo, grenades, maps, fake passports...and between the two safehouses, somewhere in the vicinity of 900-hundred thousand American dollars locked up in safes."

Nadia's eyes open wide and her jaw drops. That's a HUGE number! "Whoa...Tom..."

Tom smirks, interpreting her surprise as being of the pleasant variety. "Yeah, business was good for a while in the Anti-Cartel. Plus, I have a lot of money saved up from my legitimate salary. I've always lived frugal, dreaming of retiring early with the woman I loved and being there to raise my children without having to be constantly called away to work. Anyway, I was just thinking about this the other day..."

Nadia, still somewhat stunned at Tom's not-exactly-legal money, listens in. Suddenly, running away with Tom doesn't seem too far-fetched.

Tom starts to paint the picture. "There's a city in Baja California that I've dreamed of retiring in...San Felipe. A little sleepy fishing town with beautiful beaches that no one pays any mind. Think about it...we'd just be 2 and a half hours from the U.S. border, so we could still be close with the people we know...we'd live on a little place on the beach, down the coast from town, just the two of us...and all the money I've earned would support us FOREVER in Mexico. Time wouldn't be important to us anymore...the time we spend with each other would feel like eternity. ETERNITY...with the woman I love! No complications, no impending doom...just us! There is nothing else in this world that I want than you and that dream to be a reality." Tom grabs the sides of Nadia's head gently, but a bit insistently. "In fact, if you were to say right now, right this very second, that you would be willing to run away with me to San Felipe, we'll be there tomorrow. We'll find our place to live, we'll get our stuff down there, give our resignations to APO, and live happily ever after. The offer's on the table, Nadia. I want you. I want you in my life. And I never want to see you hurting or suffering again. This is how I ensure that."

Nadia smiles wide at the vision that Tom just laid out for her. And Tom's offer is actually very tempting to her. She also has always had a dream of living on the beach with her handsome boyfriend, whoever that ended up being. Tom can play that role pretty well. "Wow...that sounds so wonderful..."

"Just say the words, Nadia." Tom says hopefully.

However, much to Tom's chagrin, that smile disappears shortly after when Nadia sighs and forms a concerned look on her face. "I know you don't want anything to ever happen to me, and I really do appreciate that and the fact you want me to be in your life. And as much as I would love to live the life you just described, there still are things I want to fulfill in APO. I want to be there for Sydney and I want to be there for my father..."

Tom cuts her off. "But we would be! We'd only be a couple hours from the border..."

Now, Nadia cuts Tom off as she shakes her head. "It wouldn't be the same. I've spent my whole life looking for my family, and I made a commitment to APO that I want to keep."

Tom lets out a loud disappointed sigh and looks up at the ceiling.

Nadia notices and reassuringly rubs his shoulder a bit. "I'll tell you what, when we're done with our time in APO...and maybe, that can be in the near future...I'd love to join you in a place like that. Just the two of us, living out our eternity. Everything you described sounds so wonderful...and I'm glad you would want me to be a part of it. I'll make that dream a reality for us...but I'm not ready for that yet."

Tom looks back at Nadia and smiles. "I'm happy you're at least willing to go that far. I just love you so damn much. You're so beautiful and you're so good to me, and I can't think of a better way to spend eternity than with you by my side. If nothing else, it's what you deserve, Nadia. And I want to take care of you and be there for you forever."

Nadia caresses the side of Tom's face again. "And I want to take care of you and be there for you forever, too. You're so special to me, and I really feel that in my heart after tonight. We belong together." Nadia looks over to the right and sees 11:33 on the clock. "Speaking of taking care of you, I want to take you out for breakfast in the morning. We should get some sleep."

Tom raises a surprised eyebrow. "Nadia, you do too much..."

Nadia smirks, then puts a finger over Tom's mouth. "No, we're not going to do that. I'm taking you for breakfast, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind, my sexy guy!"

Tom gives her a raised eyebrow. "Your  _sexy_ guy? My scars make my body look like a roadmap to Hell, and I'm still sexy to you, huh?"

Nadia nods her head quickly. "Of course you are! I love the way you smile at me, I love those pretty dark blue eyes of yours, I love the way you hold me, I love the way you...well, I love the way you love me! Let's face it: you just do it for me!"

Tom grabs Nadia's hand gently and kisses the top of it, giving her a flattered smile in the process. He slowly forms a smirk on his face and says "Ok, after all that, I guess you can take me out to breakfast. But only if you agree to drive."

Nadia laughs. "Yes! Finally! I can pick the music in the car!"

Tom laughs back, then grabs her under her shoulders and slides her up a bit so he can kiss her. They hold on to the kiss for a while before finally letting go. Nadia gives Tom a deep, wet kiss of her own in return.

Then, Nadia rolls over to her side of the bed and gets out while taking the comforter with her so she can cover up. But...she does leave her backside open as she walks over to the light switch. She knows he's staring right at her backside, and before she turns off the lights, she gives Tom a seductive smile and a wink. Tom makes her feel sexy, too, and she loves that and loves knowing that she can make him go wild for her. In fact, it makes her feel quite powerful and forget the outside forces in her life that make her unsure of herself.

And that right there is what makes Tom so sexy to her. He has the power to make her a better, more empowered woman. And she knows that she is making Tom a complete man again, when he was so broken physically and mentally not too long before they reunited in APO. Nadia then slowly and seductively walks back to bed, lying down next to Tom and throwing the comforter over him as he lies on his side, observing her with an enchanted look and smile on his face. God, she loves this look on his face! 

Tom allows Nadia to scoot close to him so they can assume their familiar cuddling position. They both like to cuddle with one another as they go to sleep for the first time, but so far, they haven't woke up cuddling each other, as usually one or the other (or both) have to get up at some point in the night. Still, one person's arm ends up on the other when they both eventually wake up.

Tom looks deeply into Nadia's eyes and whispers "I love you..."

Nadia smiles and whispers back "I love you too." Nadia leans over and gives Tom a quick peck on the lips. "Goodnight, handsome."

Tom tells her "Goodnight, beautiful." Finally, they both reluctantly close their eyes, wrapped up in each others arms and neither wanting to be anywhere else on this world than right here, right now.

In no time at any point in his life can Tom remember having a better night than the one he just had. Even though he was with the same woman for over a decade, at no time in his life can Tom remember ever being so enchanted, so in love with another woman like he is with Nadia right now. It's the stuff you only find in romance novels and fairy tales, and this is his life right here and now. It's perfect, and he doesn't want this night, or this weekend now for that matter, to end.

And now that he's about to go to sleep, there's absolutely, positively no way it could be ruined...

...or so he thought.

* * *

_**Tom's bedroom, 3 hours later** _

Tom sleeps peacefully next to Nadia, who is also sleeping peacefully. They have remained in each other's arms miraculously. He is completely sound asleep and actually has a smile on his face...a leftover from the night before. Nadia also has a very relaxed and comfortable look about her as well.

Suddenly, Tom is jolted awake by the sound of a woman's voice.

_"Tom?"_

Tom's eyes open quickly. Was it Nadia? It sounded like a woman's voice, but it didn't sound like Nadia's. Tom sees that Nadia's out like a light, still in his arms. Did she sleep-talk? He hasn't known her to in the times they've shared a bed together. Tom shakes his head and tries to go back asleep. Maybe he was dreaming...

_"Tom!"_

Now, Tom is confused. He jolts back awake, now convinced that voice was real. He doesn't sense that anyone else is in the room with him, so it HAS to be Nadia! He looks over at Nadia and asks "Do you need something, babe?"

Nadia stirs a bit and mumbles something unintelligible, which tells Tom it wasn't her.

He mumbles "What the hell...am I dreaming?"

He gets an answer quickly. _"This is not a dream. I want to talk to you."_

Tom starts feeling his ears, seeing if he has any earpieces on. He doesn't, but what he's hearing sounds like it's in his head. With a bit of finesse, he slides out of Nadia's arms and eventually out of bed.

As he gets to his feet, a suddenly awake Nadia asks "Tom? Are you ok?" She's lifted her head a little off the pillow and her eyes are barely open as she looks at him sleepily.

Tom looks back at her worried, convinced that she'll think he's crazy if he tries to explain that he's hearing voices. Tom just says "Go back to sleep. I just have to use the bathroom."

This appears to satisfy Nadia, who lies back down to go back to sleep. She's back out in a matter of seconds.

Tom quickly walks out of the bedroom and walks into the bathroom and closes the door. He looks at himself in the mirror and closes his eyes, starting to panic over what's going on. He starts slapping the side of his head, thinking maybe he's having delusions or something.

Unfortunately, the voice returns. _"Tom, this is real. You don't have to fight it."_

Tom notices this voice is still as audible as ever, even though he's in a different room. He also realizes it echoes a bit, like it's talking through some sort of filter. Without making too much noise as to not startle Nadia, Tom asks "Where are you?"

The voice says  _"You can't see me. I have no physical form."_

Tom, now frustrated, asks "Ok, so WHAT are you?"

The voice quickly replies  _"That's not important now. I don't have a lot of time, but...I just wanted to say that I can't wait to see you again."_

Tom shakes his head quickly. "Again? Do I know you from somewhere?"

After a second, the voice says  _"Of course you do. I'm your mother."_

Tom's jaw drops as he looks at the mirror, still hunched over the sink. As what he just heard sinks in, his jaw starts to quiver, and tears start to form in his eyes. The woman who gave him life and died so he could have some freaking formula...the woman he loved and adored growing up even though he didn't even really know her...is talking to him. "Mom? This is really you?" His voice is all broken up as he says that, the grief too much for him right now.

_"Yes. I've watched over you since I died...when you were just a baby. I'm so proud of the man you've become, and I'm proud of the man you're being for Nadia."_

Tom starts openly weeping. He can't believe he's really talking to his mother, a woman he always respected, even though he has no memory of her in his life. "I always wanted to meet you...to talk to you...how is this even possible?"

_"I'm sorry, but I have to go. Soon, we'll be together, and I'll explain everything. I love you so much."_

Tom stops weeping for a bit. "Together? What do you mean together? Am I going to die?"

Tom hears nothing. His apartment is dead silent right now, the only sounds coming from the refrigerator running.

Overcome by the shock and grief of the moment, he staggers over to the toilet and sits on it. All he can do is openly sob. In between sobs, he asks himself "What just happened?" The answer comes quickly in his mind...his mom just told him from the grave that he's going to die soon.

This mere fact makes Tom sob more...he hasn't been happier in his life because of Nadia, especially after tonight, and now, it could all go away soon.

* * *

_**Tom's apartment- Morning** _

It's 7:30 in the morning and Nadia wakes up from her sleep with a huge smile on her face. Immediately, she remembers what she was doing last night...and she turns to see the man she did it with.

Only...he's not there.

This surprises Nadia a bit. She knew he got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom...but, she didn't hear him after that. Then again, she slept about as well as she's ever slept, so she could have just not realized he was up already.

Nadia gets up and gets dressed, throwing on a pair of bra and panties, followed by a nightgown.

Immediately when she walks out of the bedroom, she sees the back of Tom's head as he sits on the couch. The TV isn't on, there are no lights on. Just Tom...just sitting there.

Still, Nadia's still in full bliss from last night as she strolls up to Tom and wraps her arms around him from behind the couch. She leans in and gives Tom a kiss on his neck below his ear and tells him in a half-sleepy, half-seductive voice "Good morning, handsome."

Tom turns back with a faint smile and says "Good morning, beautiful. How did you sleep?"

Nadia gives Tom a seductive groan, then kisses him below the ear again. "Never better. I like your bed and the man that sleeps beside me in that bed..."

Tom smiles, flattered that Nadia's in downright fabulous spirits over him. He then goes back to looking at an older picture he has in his hand. It's of a woman holding a newborn baby in her arms at a hospital.

Nadia notices that he seems a bit preoccupied with that picture. She also just now realizes that he's a bit sweaty and still in what appears to be workout clothes. She doesn't mind, though, she has to take a shower anyway. Still, she lets go of Tom and now just leans on the back of the couch next to Tom. "When did you wake up?"

Tom shakes his head. "When I went to the bathroom last night. I couldn't sleep."

Nadia now looks a bit concerned. Something really appears to be bothering him, and she suspects it has something to do with this picture he's holding. "Why? What's wrong?"

Tom shakes his head again. "Nadia...I don't want to talk about it. Believe me, it's not you, though. You're awesome, babe." Tom then gives her a conciliatory pat on the arm.

Nadia then circles around the couch and sits next to him. Still concerned, she asks "It's ok, you can tell me."

Tom looks away from the picture and into Nadia's eyes. He looks very somber. "Nadia, if I told you, you'll think I've gone insane."

Nadia shakes her head. "With everything we've gone through in our lives, people would think we're both insane if we tried to tell our stories. Please, what's bothering you? You know you can tell me anything."

Tom, still somber, looks back at the picture. "This is the only picture I have of my mom. Her name was Mary. This picture was taken by Karen not long after I was born. That's me she's holding."

Nadia smiles a bit, then examines the picture. This woman looks to be in her 30s, not possibly much older than Tom is now, if at all. She has golden blonde hair down to her shoulders, and a classic smile on her face that compliments her classic, charming beauty. "She was very beautiful. Such a beautiful, warm smile." Nadia then looks back over at Tom. "Is this what's troubling you?"

Tom looks back at Nadia. His somber expression has not changed one bit. "Nadia, I talked to my mom last night."

Nadia's jaw drops a bit. This was definitely something she wasn't expecting. "What?"

Tom hangs his head. "It's true, Nadia. My mom was calling out to me while I was sleeping. When I got up to go to the bathroom, she continued talking to me, like she was in my head."

Nadia turns away a bit, still in disbelief in what she's hearing. "Well...what did she say?"

"She told me she was proud of me, and proud of the man I'm being for you. But what troubles me is...she also said she looked forward to seeing me soon. I couldn't see her because she told me she couldn't take a physical form...which only tells me one thing." Tom pauses for a bit, causing Nadia to turn back at him all troubled. Tom, in as plain as he can get, says "My mom just green-lit me."

Nadia tilts her head, confused. "Green-lit?"

Tom looks back down. "Green-lit is a term that gangs use when someone has been marked for execution or death. Nadia...I think I'm going to die soon."

Nadia shakes her head quickly. "No, that can't be right! We're both are meant for something more! I have to believe it! Why else would we be injected with 'The Connection'?"

Tom thinks for a bit, but can't come up with a response right away.

As he's thinking, Nadia asks "Are you sure 100% this voice was real?"

Tom nods his head. "Yes. I went for a run this morning and tried to sort it all out...that's why I'm all sweaty still. I can't figure out either why I'm meant to die now." Tom then sits back on the couch and sighs lifelessly.

Nadia scoots next to Tom and hugs his left arm. "Tom, we're going to be ok. Everything is going to work out...and I truly believe that dream you have of us living in San Felipe...I think we're going to be able to experience that. You talk about being there for me and protecting me...that works both ways. I don't want anything to ever happen to you either. You're the one for me!"

Tom looks over Nadia as she says that. He looks touched by what Nadia has to say. "I appreciate that."

"And in the end, we're the only ones that can control our destiny. And as long as we both believe that, then all the prophecies in the world mean nothing and all of the voices we hear can just keep talking. I believe if you want something bad enough, it will happen. And I know we both want to be with each other more than anything in this world. When our time in APO is done...we'll both be there, standing in the end, and ready to spend the rest of our lives together. I believe it so strongly in my heart, and I want you to keep believing that too."

Tom digests everything that Nadia just told him, and then smiles wide. "You're absolutely right. Nothing can tear us apart as long as we believe that." Tom then tosses the picture of his mom to the side and leans over and gives Nadia a deep, long, and wet kiss.

Nadia then pulls away from Tom quickly and looks repulsed. "Yuck! You have some awful morning breath!"

Tom rolls his eyes. "Yeah, you're not exactly minty fresh yourself, babe!"

Nadia shakes her head as she stands up. "Go take a shower, I'll make us some coffee before I take you out for breakfast."

Tom folds his arms. "And just where are you going to take me?"

Nadia smirks. "I think Kitchen 24 is kind of becoming 'our' place. I was going to take you there."

Tom stands up and smiles. "Great choice. I can't wait." Tom then leans over and gives Nadia a kiss on the cheek, and then turns to walk to the bathroom so he can take a shower.

Nadia watches him as he walks away. She smirks and mumbles something she said last night while Tom was messing with the stereo: "You couldn't get rid of me even if you tried." She then takes a deep breath. "We will be together for eternity...I just know it."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	13. The Dance

_Timeline of chapter: Between Season 4, Episode 14 and 15_

_Note: Picks up immediately where the Nightingale episode leaves off._

* * *

_**APO office** _

Tom and Nadia round the corner from the entrance to the main office of APO, looking very happy. What a weekend the two had!

As they round the corner, Sydney notices them and walks up smiling herself, eager to hear how Nadia's first full weekend with Tom went. She's not shoving Nadia out of the house at all, but she's been rooting for them both for a while now and wants to see Nadia be with Tom more. "Hey you two!"

Nadia, still smiling, happily replies "Hey, how was your vacation with Vaughn?"

Sydney, who knows where she really was (Nightingale mission), just shrugs and says "Pretty good. How was your weekend?"

Nadia looks up at Tom, who looks back down at her with a wide grin himself. At the same time, still looking at each other, they both say "Great."

Sydney laughs at the way they interact, and over the fact that their weekend was apparently very special. She asks them "What did you two do?"

Despite knowing the weekend was great, fun, and (let's be honest) full of love-making, Tom just looks at Sydney, shrugs and nonchalantly says "Just hung out. Nothing special."

Nadia looks down and holds her hand to her mouth to hide her giggling. The weekend was apparently _really_ good for her.

Sydney notices, but doesn't say anything. "I see...Anyway, my dad wants to see you two right away. He wouldn't say why."

The smile erases on Tom and Nadia's faces as they look at each other. They both suspect this meeting might be related to their anomalies in their bloodstream.

Nadia then looks back at Sydney and cracks a small smile. "Thanks. By the way, would you have a problem if I stayed with Tom for a few more days?"

Sydney looks at Nadia funny. "You don't have to ask me like I'm your mom!"

Tom throws up his arms. "Thank you! That's what I told her, but she was worried about you being alone or something."

Sydney looks at Nadia with a perplexed look. "Nadia, really? With how often Vaughn is over?"

Nadia just shrugs a bit. "Well, yeah. But, I guess if it's not a problem then..."

Sydney cuts her off with a grin. "Come on! You don't need my permission to stay with your boyfriend! In fact, I insist!"

Nadia cracks a reassured smile and looks back at Tom. "Looks like you're going to have to deal with me for a few more days then..."

Tom mockingly stomps his feet. "Damn the luck..."

Sydney laughs a bit, then says "You better go see Jack, he's waiting for you two."

Tom and Nadia both nod and they go their separate ways from Sydney. Sydney can't help but smile when he sees the two hold hands.

* * *

Tom and Nadia walk into Jack's office. Jack, looking not the worse for wear despite what happened to him in the Nightingale mission, looks up from what he's doing and looks relieved to see them both. "Good to see you two could make it to work in a timely manner..."

Tom looks at his watch. "Jack, it's only 8:30..."

Jack quickly replies "Most of us get here at 8."

Tom goes to retort, but Nadia cuts him off. "I'm sorry, Jack. We both wanted breakfast and the place we went to was busy. It won't happen again."

Jack doesn't appear all that amused, but decides to drop the subject anyway in the interest of moving things along. He tells them to "Have a seat."

Tom and Nadia take their seats in front of Jack's desk.

Tom impatiently asks "What's going on? Is this about what's in our blood again?"

Jack shakes his head. "No...although doctors are starting to think the anomaly your bodies create naturally are not endorphins."

Nadia quickly asks "What do they think they are?"

"They're back to square one. They have no idea. The problem they're having is the anomalies don't appear to interact with anything in your body, so it'd hard to determine their purpose."

Tom, in way over his head and knowing it, asks "So they're just...sitting there?"

"It would appear that way." Jack then turns to Nadia. "But, they did find that the anomaly in your blood, Nadia, has some different characteristics than Tom's. They're not sure what that means, if anything. Whatever they are, they still are similar to each other to make doctors think they are linked as well. We just have no idea how. Anyway, that's not why I called you in."

"Something you want us to check out?"

Jack tosses them a couple of files. As Tom and Nadia open their files, Jack starts off. "We've received intel that there is a group that is trying to form in order to pursue Rambaldi's prophecy. Their leader, we believe, is a man named Hans Janssen, a former CIA agent who turned rogue a few decades ago."

Tom notices something in the file. "This guy is former Covenant, working his way up the ranks before they folded. Now, he must think there's a void he can fill."

"This man has been building up his ranks slowly, which is why we're just now catching onto him. His group is having a meeting today in Los Angeles, at an abandoned office building. We need you two to eavesdrop on the meeting. Marshall will be with you two, recording the conversation."

Tom shrugs. This doesn't seem too difficult. "Do we have any schematics to this place?"

Jack nods his head. "The meeting could take place in one of two locations in the building. I've noted their locations in your files. You two will need to split up, with separate recording equipment. It's imperative that we find out everything we can about this group, they could be major players, so we're not going to take any chances. That's why we're sending you both in. I know Nadia is better suited at stealth, but we need two people for this and Sydney is tied up with something else."

Tom smirks. "Consider it done. When's the meeting?"

Jack tersely answers "In two hours, which is why I wanted to see you two earlier. Get with Marshall and get ready. Good luck."

Tom and Nadia nod as they stand up and leave the office.

* * *

_**Somewhere in Los Angeles** _

A cargo van pulls up in an alleyway behind a group of office buildings.

Tom, wearing a plain black shirt along with black pants, puts the car in park and opens his driver's door and gets out.

Nadia, wearing a similar all-black outfit, opens the front passenger door of the cargo van and goes back and slides open the rear door.

Marshall is inside, holding two small devices that look like Walkman cassette players. Behind him is a table with a laptop on it. Tom makes it around to the open cargo van door as Marshall starts off. "Ok, remember, keep these radios on 87.1 FM, or I won't get anything. Well...actually I'll get something...probably public radio or classical music..."

Tom cuts him off. "We got it, Marshall. You have our earpieces?"

Marshall reaches behind in a bag and grabs two small earpieces and hands them to Tom and Nadia. Tom and Nadia put them in their ears.

Tom touches his ear and says "Maximus checking in, can you hear me, Evergreen?"

Nadia gives Tom a sarcastic look, then puts her finger to her ear. "Of course I can hear you, I'm standing right here!"

Tom just shakes his head slowly with a smirk. "Alright, smartass. Our earpieces work."

Nadia smirks back at Tom. She likes how Tom keeps things loose before a mission. Loose, yet focused. 

Meanwhile, Marshall sheepishly says "Not being a smartass here...but I heard you guys too...I already have my earpiece in."

Tom and Nadia both turn to Marshall and give him a blank look. Tom eventually says "That's great...anyway, Nadia..." Tom turns to Nadia. "We'll go in the side door together. We'll have to proceed down the hallway up to where it dead-ends. You take the left hallway towards the left room, I'll go right."

"Affirmative, Maximus!" Nadia says with a smile, letting one more quip slip before it's time to get serious. "Good luck."

Tom smiles and gives Nadia a small peck on the lips. "You too."

Marshall then reaches out and pats both Tom and Nadia on the shoulder, which startles them both a bit. Marshall, now startled as well, says "I just wanted to wish you two good luck as well...I won't give you two a kiss, but I thought a shoulder pat was appropriate...I think."

Tom nods a little unsure. "Uh...thanks. Just keep your radio dialed in."

Marshall gives a timid smile and says "Gotcha...uh, I mean...strength and honor!"

Tom raises an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything.

Marshall worriedly says "You're codename is Maximus, and strength and honor is what they said in Gladiator before battles! I guess that wasn't appropriate either..."

Tom smiles reassuringly, then pats Marshall on the shoulder. "No, 'strength and honor' is what we said in Storm Crew before missions. Strength and honor, Marshall."

Nadia then pats Tom on the shoulder and says, with a warm smile "Strength and honor, Tom..." She knows what that comment means to him.

Tom looks back at Nadia and smiles, then walks away with her towards one of the empty office buildings.

Tom and Nadia then jog up to a side door. Nadia grabs a lock pick out of her pocket and starts working on the lock on the handle while Tom keeps watch. Eventually, Nadia unlocks the door and opens it and enters. Tom follows.

They walk down the barren, empty small hallway. No lights are on, but it's not completely pitch black inside because of the light coming in from the outside windows. They get to the end of the hallway. Tom pins himself up on the right corner while Nadia stands on the left corner.

Tom peeks down Nadia's hallway and sees some light at the end of the hallway. He whispers "There's a light on at the end of your hallway."

Almost instantly, Nadia whispers back "There's a light on down yours as well."

Tom sighs a bit, realizing they will have to split up after all and go after two targets instead of one. He tells her "Alright, let's proceed. If you see anything, let me know. I'll let you know if I see anything as well."

Nadia nods, then turns and starts creeping down the left hallway.

Tom follows suit and goes down the right hallway. He slowly guides himself along the left wall. As he passes each door, he gently tests the doorknobs, but none of them open since they're locked. Finally, Tom gets to the end of the hallway and pins himself up on the corner. He slowly peeks around the corner and sees his light is actually a stand-up light. It looks like there's some remodeling going on down the hallway. He starts to think that it's Nadia's side of the building he needs to be in, but he needs to make sure. 

The sight of paint buckets and ladders doesn't deter Tom, who creeps down the hallway and walks by the paint buckets, light, and ladder.

As he proceeds down the longer hallway, he hears Nadia whisper through his earpiece "Maximus, I've got something!"

Tom stops in his tracks, puts his finger to his ear and whispers "Evergreen, what are you seeing?"

Through his earpiece, he hears Nadia whisper "I have two guards guarding one of the rooms we thought they'd be meeting in."

"Can you take them?"

"Maybe...wait, NO!"

Tom's eyes bug out. He hears the sound of men running on the other side of the building, along with the sound of an airgun going off. Not a pow, but more of a _pfft_. This is accompanied by what sounds like Nadia letting out a sudden grunt. He gets back on his earpiece and frantically asks "Nadia, what's happening?"

This is followed by Nadia's fading voice. "They...shot me...with a dart..." Then nothing.

Tom starts making his way back down the remodeling hallway and posts back up on the corner he came from and looks around the corner. He sees a man at the end of the hallway he originally came from, looking down the hallway Nadia would be in. After a few seconds, he hears a LOUD squeal in his earpiece, followed again by silence.

Through his earpiece, Marshall says "They disabled Evergreen's earpiece. Maximus, what do you see?"

Just as Marshall says that, the man Tom sees starts turning in his direction, which causes Tom to quickly turn away from the corner. He whispers back on his earpiece "There's a man coming my way, about 30 feet away. I think they have Evergreen. Go radio silent..."

Tom stops and focuses in on the silence, trying to hear footsteps. He also tries to suppress his fear and adrenaline over Nadia being captured, and somehow manages to, knowing this man is a priority before anything else right now.

After a few seconds, Tom starts hearing footsteps getting closer and closer. Tom slowly pulls out his gun that he had in a holster at his hip. As the footsteps get closer and closer, Tom points his gun slowly, keeping his arm on the wall, waiting to blindside the man coming towards him.

However, another man has come from the other direction down the hallway and has noticed Tom. He yells out "HEY!"

Tom quickly turns and sees the and starts firing down the hallway, forcing the man to hide behind the corner. He turns back around and turns the corner and quickly nails the guy that was coming down the hallway in the forehead.

Tom pins himself on the other side of the corner and looks down to the hall where Nadia was captured and sees two men coming towards him. Tom quickly turns around the corner and sees the man that discovered him peeking around the corner.

Seeing as he doesn't have many options, he turns back around and sees an office door with an opaque window right in front of him and off to the left a little, facing the hallway where the man that discovered him is. Quickly, he rushes the door and kicks it open with his right foot. Thankfully, it was meant to open that way, and the door stays on its hinges.

Inside the office room is nothing except for a closet off to the right that is closed. Seeing a chance to create a quick and easy distraction, Tom quickly runs over to the closet door, opens it, and then slams it shut hard. Tom wants them to think he's hiding in the closet so they'll just run in blindly. He then scampers and pins himself against the wall next to the open doorway that he just kicked open, ready to ambush those misguided soon-to-be-dead souls. At least he hopes they're doomed, anyway.

Tom keeps his back parallel to the wall and points his gun at the doorway. He quickly hears footsteps running towards him, getting closer and closer.

Suddenly, the man from the remodeled hallway comes rushing in and Tom shoots him in the side of his head right away. Tom then takes off for the other side of the door as bullets start flying through the wall that he was perched up on. Tom gets around the kicked-in door and dives behind it as the bullets finally come to a stop.

Tom looks to his left on the other side of the room and the outside window is reflecting everything, including the open doorway and the shadowy figures of at least two men just outside it. He stares at the reflection patiently, waiting for someone to step in.

Finally, after a few seconds, someone does. Tom quickly slams the door in the man's face and then starts shooting through the opaque window, killing the man that was in the doorway.

Now, it's just one on one...as far as he knows.

Quickly, Tom runs around the door and through the doorway. He starts blindly firing down the hallway, hitting the last remaining man, who was running away from Tom down the hallway. The man falls over, but is not dead. This is a great development, Tom thinks.

Tom runs up to him and stands over him. He sees that he's shot in the left thigh and is trying to crawl away. And so, Tom indulges him for a bit.

Tom watches the man try to squirm away for a few seconds and, with a cocky smirk, asks the doomed sap of a man "Where do you think you're going?"

The man, who's breathing heavily in severe pain, says nothing. Predictable.

Tom then squats down and, seeing another chance to inflict some pain as well as needing answers, sticks the barrel of his gun in the open wound on the left thigh and presses down hard, causing the man to scream in extreme pain. Tom is in his element, giving this man torture. But the guy tried to kill him, and one of Tom's rules in life is, if you hurt him or his friends, he'll hurt you at least as much and hopefully twice as much. So Tom lets the man thrash a little before asking with an evil smirk on his face "You tell me where they took my partner, and how many men are holding her, and I'll end your misery."

The man, still screaming in pain, says "They took her to a room around the far corner, then to the left! It's the only room there! You killed everyone except Hans!"

Tom nods his head, then stands up and fires a bullet into the back of the man's skull, killing him instantly. Tom smirks at the corpse. "There, I ended your misery."

It wasn't an incorrect statement, but perhaps an excessive one. But any fear that Tom has of taking a life left him a long time ago. Not only did this man try to hurt him...for all he know, this guy shot Nadia with the dart. And after the weekend of loving and affection they just had, not to mention the fact that he's still eternally in debt to her for saving his life those years back, one thing is certain: you mess with Nadia, and your life is pretty much forfeit to Tom. He will kill you and be sad he can't kill you more than once. This is the gospel according to Tom.

Tom then opens his magazine clip and sees he's now out of bullets from the firefight. Tom then stops and thinks for a second. How is he going to approach rescuing Nadia with no bullets?

Tom then stands up, a lightbulb going off in his head. The name "Hans" keeps flashing in his mind. Now, he realizes why...the villain in Die Hard was named 'Hans Gruber', and Die Hard was one of the movies he watched with Nadia over the weekend...only because she didn't get a Die Hard reference that Tom had made.

Then, he remembers something else. He runs around the corner and looks down the hallway that had the paint buckets and other remodeling stuff. He sees a roll of duct tape sitting on a bucket. Tom smirks as he looks at his empty gun. He goes back and picks up a loaded handgun from the guy he shot through the office window. He checks to make sure it's loaded and indeed it is. Tom, still smirking, asks himself "What would John McClane do?"

* * *

Inside the small room she's being held captive in, Nadia regains consciousness. She blinks her eyes a few times, trying to get her orientation back. She realizes that she's sitting in a chair and tries to get up, but quickly finds out that her hands are tied behind the chair in a way she can't free herself from.

She looks to the right and sees a small, orange Rambaldi ball spinning on an axis. Next to the table the ball is on is a tall, husky, middle-aged blonde man with glasses. The man looks over at Nadia and smiles, seeing that she's awake. In a thick Dutch accent, he says "Ah, good morning! I was wondering when you were going to wake up...I didn't think I put that much tranquilizer in that dart..."

Nadia returns the man's friendly look with an angry one. "What do you want with me?"

The man chuckles a bit. "Before I answer that, allow me to introduce myself..."

Nadia cuts him off rather snidely. "I know who you are...you're Hans Janssen, a former Covenant mid-level associate who thinks he can run a terrorist organization."

This causes Hans to laugh. "Where, oh where, do you get your information? I do have to give you some credit, you at least got my name right. And I do appreciate facts. But I don't run any terrorist organizations!"

Nadia just glares at him and says nothing.

Hans, seeing as he's not going to get a retort from Nadia, goes back to what he was doing, which was filling a syringe.

Nadia notices the needle. "What are you going to do to me?"

Hans looks back at her with a smirk. "One question at a time! I still haven't answered what I want from you."

Nadia, not breaking her angry stare, asks "I'm waiting..."

Hans turns towards Nadia. "You're a part of a glorious prophecy...only, there's one flaw in it. See, you're supposed to fight your sister to the death, but from what we know about you, you wouldn't fight her willingly because you're close to her. That's where the contents of this needle come in!"

Nadia looks at the syringe again, repulsed. "What the hell is in that?"

Hans walks up to Nadia's side. "Oh, don't worry, it's only tap water." Hans leans over to inject the needle in Nadia's neck. Nadia tries to fidget and scoot her chair away.

Thankfully for her, Hans stops when Tom comes busting through the door. And that's actually literal since the door actually splintered into a couple pieces as he charged through it. That's the beauty of cheap wood.

Tom, pointing a gun at Hans immediately after getting his composure, yells out "DROP THE NEEDLE, HANS!"

Hans smiles and turns to the table the spinning ball is on. "As you wish..."

Hans sets the needle on the table with his right hand, while with his left hand, he reaches into his suit pocket and pulls out a gun. He quickly spins around and points it back at Tom. Hans pulls back the hammer immediately, not wasting any time. "Now, I've done what you asked, and now it's my turn. Drop your gun, and let's talk this out like gentlemen."

Tom shakes his head slowly. "I'm not here for a chat. I'm here for Nadia. Let us walk out of here with our lives, and you'll get to live another day. In fact, I'll even tell my bosses you weren't even here and that this was all just a giant misunderstanding! How does that sound?"

Hans chuckles. "That sounds quite lovely, actually. However, I'm under orders to inject this...beautiful woman with a needle-full of tap water and just see what happens."

Tom chuckles sarcastically at that. "That sounds like one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. I'm actually almost tempted to let you try, if I actually were stupid enough to believe that was simply tap water in that needle."

Hans quickly retorts "But it is tap water! And on the surface, you would be right to question the logic of such an act. However, if this needle does what I think it will do, we'll have a bargaining chip: the guaranteed winner of the great Rambaldi fight."

Nadia angrily says "I'd never hurt Sydney."

Hans doesn't turn away from Tom, but tells Nadia "Not if you're completely consumed by anger, and unleashed on her like a wild pit bull, my dear."

Tom looks repulsed at what Hans is saying. "Over my dead body."

Hans smiles. "Well, if you keep this up, that just might happen."

Tom digests that comment for a bit, then responds with a smile of his own. "You know, I spoke to my dead mother this weekend. In a roundabout way, she told me that I'm going to die soon. Yeah, I know...I'm crazy right? Me, talking to someone from beyond the grave...that's impossible, right? I must be dreaming! But you're dreaming too if you think you're leaving with Nadia today, at least while I continue to draw breath."

With a defiant look on his face, Hans says "But, I will if it's over your dead body, right?"

Tom shakes his head. "Not if I shoot first, Dutchboy."

Hans starts laughing. "I have a lifetime of expert marksman training. You won't stand a chance."

Tom starts laughing back. "And I have a lifetime of killing hundreds of Latino gangbangers and cartel homies! So try me, holmes!"

Nadia raises a surprised eyebrow at that. She knows Tom has alluded to his history in the past, but the 'hundreds' part surprises her still.

Hans shakes his head. "This talking is pointless. I tell you what, you lower your gun, and I'll lower mine, and we can discuss the man who sent me here."

Tom tilts his head a bit. "Oh, so once a lackey, always a lackey? And here we thought you were the head of your little rag-tag group."

Hans laughs. "Oh no! I'm not the leader, but I do have the ear of my boss. Look, I'm lowering my gun..." Hans does lower his gun.

Tom waits for Hans to get the gun to his waist, and then follows suit by lowering his gun to his. "Ok, so who's your boss?"

Hans gives Tom a wide smirk. "Drop your gun and I will tell you."

Nadia, sensing a trap, pleads "Tom, don't!"

Tom looks over at Nadia for a second, the love of his life, then back at Hans. He sighs and drops his gun to the ground, just in front of his feet. He's actually not upset about this, and for reasons only he knows.

Hans smiles at that. "Very well. I am a man of my word. My boss is Arvin Sloane."

Tom's jaw drops a bit, as does Nadia's. Tom shakes his head in disbelief. "That's impossible, he's MY boss!"

Hans shakes his head. "I don't know what gives you that impression. I just saw him this morning. Did you see Arvin today?"

Tom looks away in disbelief. He actually hadn't seen Sloane at the office this morning...not that he was looking for him anyway. In the meantime, this gives Hans the opening to point the gun back at the now-unarmed and mentally-distracted Tom. "Now, hands behind your head."

Tom turns back to Hans and slowly raises his hands and puts them behind his head. He sarcastically tells Hans "As you wish..." It's almost as if Tom was counting on this.

Hans smiles wide as he turns back to get his needle. "Now, if you excuse me..."

Tom cuts him off. "Hang on a sec, Hans. There's something you should know about me."

Hans stops turning to pick up the needle and returns his focus back on Tom, deciding to indulge him. "I'm listening..."

Tom smirks. "Hans, it's clear you don't know much about me...except for my penchant for killing Latin American gang members. Four years ago, I was in a similar predicament like this...gun pointed at my head...completely dead to rights. And who is there to kill my captors and save my life?" Tom looks back over at Nadia and smiles. "Nadia Santos, my Argentine angel."

Nadia cracks a small, flattered smile, but is wondering where he's going with this.

Tom looks back over at Hans. "After that day, I swore her a life debt. I promised her I'd save her from a similar situation one day, and I would gladly risk my life to do it. And now that I'm madly in love with Nadia, I now have a greater incentive to try to save her life." As he says that, Tom slides his right hand slowly down the back of his head and to a neck...to where a gun is duct-taped to the top of his back!

Hans does not notice this, and neither does Nadia.

"Well, it would appear that we are in a situation where I might be able to repay that life debt finally. And if my mom was right, you're probably going to kill me right here and right now. But know this...even though I won't get to spend any more time with the love of my life, that's ok, because I will have fulfilled the one promise I had left to fulfill to anyone on this planet, and that's because I'm going to take you to hell with me."

Nadia realizes now what Tom's about to do, having placed his right hand deeper down his back. Her heart flutters in her chest and she suddenly feels a cold sweat break out. "Tom! What are you...!"

Tom smirks, knowing it's showtime "Hans? Let's do this dance."

Hans draws his gun, but Tom suddenly kicks his dropped gun towards Hans, which causes Hans to look down at it. As Hans looks down, Tom quickly tears off the gun on his back and points it at Hans in a split second. Hans looks up just in time for Tom to fire a shot at his head.

The shot is true. It hits Hans in the forehead and sends him flying back, knocking the table with the needle and Rambaldi ball over. The ball falls to the ground and disintegrates in a watery explosion.

Unfortunately for Tom, in the split-second after he shot at Hans, Hans was able to react quickly and get a shot off himself before getting hit by Tom's bullet.

Hans' shot went into the right side of Tom's neck. The bullet did not come out the other side.

Tom falls to the ground and screams in pain as he grabs the right side of his neck, which is now spewing out blood.

Nadia screams in horror, seeing Tom has taken a shot in a very bad place. In fact, she knows he might be doomed.

In his earpiece, Tom hears Marshall ask "Maximus, what happened?"

Tom, now breathing through his teeth, which are clinched tightly because of the pain, growls loudly, then tells Marshall "I've been shot...I'm going to...rescue Evergreen now...get me to the hospital..."

Holding his neck with his right hand, he crawls his way over to Nadia as fastly as he can while only being able to crawl with his legs and left arm.

Nadia looks completely mortified seeing Tom holding his bloody neck with a now-bloody right hand.

Tom eventually makes it over to the side of Nadia and reaches into his left pocket with his left hand. He pulls out his Mayan pocket knife, opens it using his body, and cuts Nadia's bonds free. Then, he exhales and lies flat on his back, looking up. That's about all he can manage now with blood gushing out of his neck and life escaping him slowly, but surely.

Nadia springs up and squats down over Tom. She carefully pulls Tom's hand away. She turns away and winces, seeing the bullet hole in his neck, along with a steady stream of blood flowing out. Tom snaps his hand back on his neck, knowing he needs to impede the bloodflow.

Tom is now breathing very heavily and panicked, trying his best to stay alive. However, both of them realize that this wound might be fatal. Nadia looks like she's about to cry while Tom wants to cry himself because Nadia wants to cry. 

Soon enough, Marshall comes running in and looks in horror as he sees Tom fighting for his life, with Nadia hovering over him. "Oh no..." is all he can let out as he stands there frozen in horror.

Nadia turns and spots the chair that was next to Hans. It's a standard office chair with wheels. "Quick, help me get him on this rolling chair! We have to get him out of here and to the hospital...he's dying!"

Marshall, still terrified, quickly nods and scampers over and waits for instructions on which body part of Tom's to grab.

Nadia looks down at Tom and asks "Can you sit up?" Tom, just staring into the ceiling and focused on the hole in his neck, looks at Nadia and gives her the smallest of nods. He leans up.

Nadia and Marshall each prop a hand under his shoulders and, using all their strength, pull him up off the ground and sit him on the rolling chair.

Nadia then gets behind the chair and starts pushing Tom out.

Marshall runs ahead and yells "I'll get the back door opened and the van started!"

* * *

Nadia pushes a struggling Tom outside the side door they came in at and down the alleyway.

She rounds the corner and sees Marshall's van wide open in the back. Marshall leaps out of the back of the van and tells Nadia "Let's get him on the table...I know it's not the most comfortable..."

Nadia is not in the mood for Marshall's ramblings at the moment and yells "Fine! Just help me lift him up!"

Nadia pushes Tom to the back of the van. Marshall goes around Tom's back and reaches under Tom's shoulders, bearhugging him while Nadia grabs Tom's legs. Together, they lift him up off the chair and step up in the van.

They make it to the former computer table and lie Tom down on it. Nadia then yells at Marshall "Drive! Get us to the nearest hospital!"

Marshall nods very nervously and closes the back doors and runs to the driver's seat and takes off in the van.

In the back, Nadia stands over Tom and assesses the situation. Tom's eyes are now barely open, but he is still breathing, clinging to what little life he has left.

Nadia closes her eyes and more tears stream down her face. She knows he's in deep, deep trouble.

Meanwhile, Marshall has started driving.

Nadia then grabs Tom's right hand and lowers it. Blood starts to gush out of Tom's neck. Nadia lets go and quickly searches a medical bag next to her and finds a first aid kit. She finds large tweezers inside and pulls them out. When she looks back at Tom, she sees Tom has put his hand over the bullet hole again.

Nadia looks into Tom's fading eyes and says "I'm going to get the bullet out...this will hurt. I'm sorry."

Tom looks at her with wide, crazed eyes, knowing how this will hurt. But he trusts her, so he lowers his hand.

Nadia then sticks the tweezers into Tom's hole in his neck. This causes Tom's eyes to open up wide. He gurgles and grunts a bit in pain. Nadia strokes Tom's forehead with her free left hand and says "I know it hurts, but I have to stop the bleeding!"

In an attempt to deal with the pain, Tom lifts his left hand to his mouth and he bites down on his index finger. It's a tactic that he used growing up when getting a shot or blood drawn. Tom's never been a particular fan of needles, and the pain of him biting on his finger is a distraction for the needle. It's pretty illogical, really, but Tom's finding it helps when tweezers are rammed into his neck, too.

Nadia does some digging and eventually pulls the bullet out. This causes even more blood to stream out of Tom's neck. Nadia quickly tosses the tweezers and bullet off to the side and plugs her finger into Tom's neck, trying to stop the bleeding. This causes Tom's eyes to bug out again in pain.

Once he settles, Tom now slowly turns his gaze over at Nadia. As he looks into her eyes, his eyes start to water. As he clings more and more tenuously to life, it's starting to sink in that these are going to be the last moments he has with Nadia.

Nadia's noticing Tom looking at her tearfully and has allowed some tears to fall as well.

Tom manages to say through the tears "Nadia...I'm a goner..."

Nadia exhales quickly, now crying herself. With her free hand, she wipes the tears from Tom's eyes. "No you're not, be quiet! Save your strength..."

As she is wiping his tears away, Tom grabs Nadia's right wrist gently with his left hand and presses her palm into his face. He leans his head into her open palm, wanting to feel her gentle touch for one last time. The tears flow once again from his eyes. Tom's at his most content, he's found, when Nadia's holding him. And while he's fighting for every second of life he can steal, he's finding Nadia's soft and gentle touch soothing to him once again.

Marshall hits a bump, which causes Tom to bounce a bit as well as Nadia. So much for that soothing feeling.

Nadia yells out "Marshall!"

Marshall yells back "I'm sorry! That pothole snuck up on me...we're almost to the hospital."

While that's going on, Tom's eyes roll to the back of his head. Everything goes dark...

...and then light again as Nadia shakes him awake. She yells at him "Please! Stay with me!"

Tom's eyes open wide again and he looks back at Nadia, coughing up some blood in the process. As some of that blood runs down his cheek, he swallows the rest of the blood that entered his throat. With what little strength he has left, he tells Nadia "The life debt...it's been fulfilled. I promised...to sacrifice...my life for you...if that's what it required...and I have."

Nadia frantically starts shaking her head. "No! You're going to make it! Don't say this!" She always thought the whole concept of a "lifedebt" was silly, but not anymore than now!

Tom, who is still holding Nadia's left arm throughout all of this, pulls it towards his mouth. He kisses Nadia's palm and says softly "Thank you...for giving me peace...In my borrowed time...since Project Alloy...you gave me the greatest gift...you gave me your love...and I love you so much..."

Nadia, who was sobbing through all that, takes a deep breath and whimpers "I love you too! We're going to get through this, it's not your time yet!"

Marshall then yells "We're at the hospital!"

Nadia turns to look at Marshall. Relief washes over her face. She whispers "There's still hope..."

Unfortunately for her, Tom has rolled his eyes to the back of his head again.

Darkness washes over Tom. And then... _a bright blue light._

_The light fades away after a few seconds and now, Tom finds himself standing behind a familiar house. His house...the one he grew up in rural Missouri. He's in the backyard. The swing-set from his childhood is there, and behind the swing-set is the woods...the woods he grew up in. Everything around him is the same as it was as he was growing up...except, it all has a blueish-tint. It's so real...but is it?_

All of the sudden, Tom is jerked back awake by a frantic Nadia, who yells "We're here, Tom! They're going to patch you up! Everything's going turn out ok! You're going to get better and you're going to come home to me! I'm going to take care of you!"

Tom looks down as he sees he's now being wheeled in a gurney by a team of doctors. He hears them yelling something, but their voices now seem so distant...

He also sees Nadia running along side of him with a frightened look on her face. Suddenly, a doctor holds her back. As she screams "TOM!", he shifts to get one last look at Nadia, but his head is forced back by a doctor or nurse...and his eyes roll back in his head.

_He's back home. He starts walking around to the front of the small, brick home. In the driveway, he sees an old blue Cadillac...like the one he used to ride around in growing up. And then, at the end of the driveway, he sees a woman...talking to a hooded man in a classic red Bonneville..._

He's jerked awake again by his body being set on a hospital bed from the gurney. He feels hands on the right side of his neck. He turns his eyes and sees a nurse standing over him, applying pressure and saying something about 'can't stop the bleeding'.

At that moment, he feels his heart race. His breathing becomes quick and uncontrolled...he can literally feel the life escaping from his body...like it's being pulled away from him...

And then he closes his eyes and exhales. His body relaxes. The heart monitor flatlines. He no longer has a pulse, and there is no more blood pressure.

Tom has no more life to cling onto. He is dead.

* * *

_**?** _

Tom returns to the spot he last left in this blue world he's in now, near the front of his driveway. He looks up to the sky and sees even the Sun is blue, and not it's usual bright yellow.

He walks forward, passing a picnic table to his right and the house to his left. As he does, he sees a bright white flash. He closes his eyes until the flash goes away, then opens his eyes and realizes he's still here.

Once he regains his bearings, Tom looks down to the end of the driveway and sees the Bonneville start to drive away. He swears he sees another man in the passenger's seat...

Another bright white flash. Tom wonders where it's coming from...then, he feels his chest. He now realized that he feels an electrical shock go through his chest each time he sees the flash. The life he left behind is trying to reclaim him...

Tom regains his bearings again and sees the woman start to walk towards his direction.

Another flash. Another feeling of electricity. The jolts are getting stronger and stronger. But, he's still there.

The woman keeps walking in his direction. He sees that she has a wide smile on her face and is wearing a long, flowery summer dress, like something out of the late 60's or early 70's.

And yet another flash happens. Another jolt of electricity. Tom almost feels himself being pulled away from...well, wherever he is, but he's still there in the end.

The woman now finishes walking and stands about 5 feet in front of him. We now see that she is probably in her late 30's or early 40's, has shoulder-length blonde hair, blue eyes, and stands a few inches shorter than Tom. Tom examines her and realizes who he's looking at. Her face is like a picture, and Tom just looked at that face a couple mornings ago...the morning she came to visit him.

His jaw drops. He can't believe what he's seeing. Finally, Tom musters one, solitary word...

"Mom?"

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	14. Mother Knows Best

_Timeline of chapter: Still between Season 4, Episodes 14 and 15_

* * *

_**?** _

He still can't believe what he's seeing. Standing there, right there, 10 feet in front of his face, is his mother...the mother he never got to know because she died in a car wreck when he was just a baby.

Tom is still in his black outfit from his mission before he died, but the only sign that a bullet ended up on the right side of his neck is a scar at the entry point. There's no blood. If he weren't so transfixed on his mother, he'd notice that the canyon-like scar is still running down his right arm. 

But he really doesn't care about any of that. has only seen his mother in pictures, but now, in this unknown blue world they are in, she's here. She's really here.

All he can manage is the "Mom?" that he bleakly blurted out at the end of the last chapter. Now, he's waiting to see if she is indeed for real.

Mary has a wide, warm grin on her face. In fact, she almost looks like she's about to burst out of happiness. She's slender, demure, and a 5-foot-7 beauty in the classic, traditional sense. She appears to be in her late 30s or early 40s. Like the picture Tom saw, Mary has shoulder-length blonde hair and blue eyes. "My baby boy..." She says with the kind of happiness that comes with being able to be with your son for the first time in decades.

Tom steps back a bit, a little afraid. Even though he feels alive, he knows he's dead. How much of this is real and how much of this is a dream? He can't put his finger on that.

Mary walks up to Tom, slowing down when it sets in for her that he's afraid. She shakes her head and extends her arms. "Don't be afraid." Her voice is comforting, like Tom always imagined her voice would be.

Tom lets Mary embrace him warmly, her head resting on Tom's shoulder. The hug feels very real, and it feels _right_. He responds by hugging Mary back tightly. When he was young, friend and foe alike called him a "mama's boy" even though Mary wasn't in his life growing up and even though he wouldn't call himself particularly close to his grandmother Violet. He had all the personality traits, though. And he did love his mother, even though he didn't really know her.

Now that he's convinced, he squeezes her a bit. "Mom, I can't believe this is happening..."

Mary lets out a delighted laugh as she releases the hug, then reaches up with both hands and places them on his cheeks. "I've looked forward to this day for so long, Tom! There's so much I've wanted to share with you...including that hug!"

Tom, who's had a somewhat dumbfounded look on his face this whole time, cracks a small smirk as Mary shifts her hands to the sides of Tom's head. "I can think of a few hundred things I'd like to ask you as well."

Mary smiles at that as she lets go of Tom's face. "Well, I'm here now." Mary looks down at the ground. "You don't have any idea how heartbroken I was when I left you..."

Now it's Tom's turn to give Mary a hug. "It's ok, Mom. You couldn't have anticipated what would have happened."

Mary looks a little unsure what to say to that, like there's more to that statement that she wants to expound on, but can't.

Tom then gets off the subject quickly. A pained look forms on his face. "Mom, I shouldn't be here. Nadia needs me and I need her. I didn't want to die! I want to be with her again!"

"I know you do, dear. But we have some things we need to talk about." Mary looks over to her left at the picnic table as Tom releases the hug. "Surely, you remember this..."

Tom looks right at the picnic table with her and cracks a small smile. "Yeah, I built that table with Grandpa Ed and my brother Eddie."

"Come on." Mary says as she starts walking over to the table and sits down on her side, then motions Tom to sit across from her.

After Tom walks over and sits down, he starts to get comfortable and starts observing his surroundings more. "Am I really back in good ol' Bunker, Missouri?"

Mary starts laughing. "Oh no! This isn't home, but it sure looks like it, doesn't it?"

Tom stops looking around and looks at Mary. "So, is this heaven?"

Mary looks up and starts looking around. "Sort of..." Mary then looks back at Tom. "When you're here long enough, titles really don't matter. The beauty of where we are is that you can be wherever, whenever, and however you want. I just chose to make home where I want to be. However, when I died, when your dad died, when your brother died...home is where we went, just like you!"

Tom cracks a smirk. "So, if I wanted to live on beachfront property somewhere, I can?"

Mary laughs a bit. "Yeah, you sure can! And I figured you'd say that. I heard you describing where you'd like to take Nadia the other night...I remember you always liked San Felipe."

Tom hangs his head and has a look of sadness on his face. "I wish I could have fulfilled that dream..." Tom shakes his head glumly. "l loved that woman as much as a human possibly can love another person. She deserves better than to bury me just as we were on the cusp of starting a new chapter in our lives."

Mary reaches over and rubs Tom's hand. "You love Nadia so much, and I know she loves you, too. And I'm happy you two found each other. I really like her!" Mary then looks down at the ground, as if feeling apprehensive about something. Tom's not noticing any of these distractions, but if he did, he'd wonder if something was up, if there was more than she's letting on. She needs to change the subject fast. "In fact, I like her much better than that backstabbing bitch you were with all those years!"

Tom cocks his head a bit, a bit surprised at his mom's sailor mouth. "You're talking about Kate?"

Mary sighs and rolls her eyes, her face tight with anger. "Yes, that one. I always knew she was going end up stabbing you in the back. There was something about her I never liked and I never could put my finger on it, but when she did what she did in the end, she revealed that she was one shallow, phony bitch in her heart. Her mother was like that, too. Kate was just a chip off the ol' block."

Tom leans forward. "I think you read her wrong, Mom. I gave her many chances to run and she didn't. My time with Kate wasn't all bad..."

Mary looks down. "You were a means to an end for her. If you only knew about what she was doing to you behind your back...I saw it all."

Tom gives her an inquisitive expression. "What did she do?"

Mary shakes her head and knows she probably should have kept her mouth shut. Tom's been surprisingly strong throughout all this...most new arrivals are basketcases when they arrive, and she doesn't want to see Tom go into the dumps. "Some things shouldn't be said..."

Tom slaps his hands on the table and leans back frustrated. "Mom, quit being coy with me! What do you know about Kate?"

Mary looks up at Tom with a surprised look. It's amazing to her how he took after her, including his pushiness when he was upset. But, she knows that there's no turning back now. "She used you. She wanted the big city life and you were her way out of the sticks. Unfortunately, you were away from her for so long on your missions...you really didn't know what she did in her spare time. All I'm going to say is...I was rooting for you SO BAD when you met Nadia in 2001...you two were so adorable together! I was hoping you would have asked her out and moved on from Kate. Because when you met Nadia for the first time, while you were on that very mission, Kate screwed around with another man." Tom's jaw drops as Mary continues. "In fact, she had to break things off with this other guy in L.A. when you moved to Baltimore!"

Tom looks down at the table and shakes his head in disbelief. He was completely blind to all this. Kate was a master at keeping her emotions in check, but apparently she was also an expert at keeping a secret. "So, that's why she became so venomous towards me when we got to Baltimore."

Mary just nods her head slowly. "Yep. In fact, moving to Baltimore might have bought you a couple more years on your marriage with her. Now, don't get me wrong...Kate still liked you and all, and she decided coming with you was the right move. She even told herself she was going to stay loyal to you, but that didn't last long. She wanted to have her cake and eat it too, if you know what I mean. It's funny...your double life troubled you so much, but yet, here was Kate living one of her own."

Tom lets out a deep sigh as his eyes furrow a bit. "Mom, you could have told me in Argentina...you know how much it broke my heart leaving Nadia..."

Mary shakes her head. "No. You had to figure things out by yourself. You're a grown man! And you would have flipped out like you did the other night when I talked to you for the first time, and who knows what would have happened after that. Besides, I didn't know how to communicate with you until recently."

Tom rolls his eyes. "Yet, you felt the need to use these new-found speaking abilities to tell me I'm a dead man on one of the best nights of my freaking life. You think that's fair?"

Mary looks down, knowing that was a bad move on her part. She actually felt as happy for Nadia that night as she did for Tom, but for her own reasons. "I'm sorry I did that, now that I think about it. But, I knew you'd be coming and I was just so excited to see my son." Mary looks back up at Tom with a smile, having another card up her sleeve to steer herself away from a conversation that is having a bad effect on her son. "I also wanted to tell you about someone that dropped by here recently."

Tom leans forward. "Who?"

Mary smiles as she says "Your friend from Storm Crew, Chris Cooper."

Tom sits up quickly, his spirits lifted after hearing that name. "Chris? Oh my God, how is he?"

Mary can't help but laugh. "Just as happy-go-lucky as ever! Anyway, he saw you talking on the plane with Sydney, Nadia, and Vaughn about the Torino mission, and how you've asked for forgiveness every single day since the explosion. Well, by then I knew you'd be coming and he wanted to tell you that you were forgiven for that a long time ago."

Tom closes his eyes tightly, the tears rising to the surface. That really has been a subject that has ate away at his soul for a long, long time. "He really said that?"

Mary nods and grabs Tom's hand. "Yes. He understands that what happened was an accident. He felt bad that you beat yourself up over it for so long. In fact, all those guys have felt bad over your grief, he told me."

Tom just nods his head, but doesn't say anything. He asked for their forgiveness every single day after the explosion until he got hired in APO. As he predicted, on the day he left Earth, he got the forgiveness he sought. Finally.

Mary sees the grief that Tom's going through over this and decides to brighten his spirits again. "He also said that Mike Walcott is still a dork. He saw how he was with Sydney during the Cuba mission."

Tom starts laughing, imagining Chris saying that. All of the sudden, he realizes something. "Hey, you said my dad and brother are here. Are they around?"

Mary shakes her head. "No. They're hunting."

"Hunting?"

"Yeah, one of the ways to make a living here is by hunting. Your father was an expert hunter before the war, and you know hunting is always something that Eddie loved to do. I think they said they were going to hunt pheasants in South Dakota today."

Tom sighs. "I would have liked to have seen my brother again...Dad...whatever."

Mary looks down and lets out a disappointed sigh. "It always bothered me how much you hated your father. You let that hate completely consume you..."

Tom fires back angrily. "How else was I supposed to feel, Mom? The man did not make one effort to raise me, Karen, or Eddie after you died! Screw him!"

Mary looks back up at Tom fearfully. Clearly, she has a different opinion on Tom's father. "I know. But, at the end of his life, when he finally sorted things out...he realized what he did, and he regretted it until the end of his days. He's really cleaned up since he got here. I think a lot of it was because I was back in his life, but a lot of it is simply how things work here."

Tom just shakes his head, then looks back at Mary. "You know, I always took pride in the fact that I took after you. I loved you growing up, even though I never got to know you. I think that's why I was so angry when I was a kid...angry that my dad got to live and you died."

Mary smiles a little sheepishly. She felt Tom's adoration for her when she would hold him in her arms when he was a baby. "I know. But like I told you the other night, I'm so happy with the man you've become, and the man you are to Nadia. Especially with everything you both have gone through."

Tom nods, then thinks of something else that's been gnawing at him since he arrived in...wherever this place is. "I have to admit...I thought I'd be seeing an old lady when I came up here."

Mary busts out laughing. "Thomas Loren Falk! You're crazy!"

Tom looks astonished that she'd laugh. "Mom! You can't be more than a couple years older than I am as I look at you now!"

Mary stops laughing. "What you see is how I looked the day I died...just like how you look like how you were when you died."

"Does it feel weird looking at your son and knowing he's only a couple years younger than you?"

"No! I know you're my son and I know I have about 30 year head start on you!"

Tom lets out a relieved sigh, knowing he hasn't gone completely crazy. "Right, it just feels weird seeing you, knowing you gave me life, and you don't look a day over 35." 

Mary lets out a flattered laugh! "Really? This is how I look when I died and I was a few years older than that!" Mary looks down at her attire. "Like I said, we can look how we want, but we can keep the things we left behind. For instance, I always liked this dress, so I just kept it!"

Tom smiles, having made his mother smile. "It looks good on you, Mom."

Mary smiles back at Tom. "Thank you! Your dad and your brother NEVER complimented me in this dress!"

Tom laughs a bit, then looks down at his right arm and sees he still has his scar there for the first time. "So can I get rid of these god-awful scars? Show me how to do that..."

Mary smiles at Tom. "You sure can! But...I'll show you how to do that another time."

Tom gets a serious look on his face and leans forward. "Ok, so you've seen everything that's happened to me in my life."

"Not everything, but I was with you quite a bit, yes."

"Let me ask you...when was I injected with 'The Connection'?"

Mary's smile disappears. She looks down and looks afraid to answer.

Tom leans forward and puts his right hand on her right hand gently. "Mom, it's ok. I can take it. It's just driven me crazy...I can't think of when this could have happened!"

Mary looks back up at Tom with a humble look. "Do you remember the big meth bust you helped lead when you were a Bunker police officer?"

Tom chuckles a bit. "How can I forget that? That's how the CIA noticed me."

Mary lets out a dejected sigh. "That's also how Elena Derevko noticed you."

Tom's jaw drops a bit. "What? How?"

"Your picture was in USA Today. Your bust made national headlines because it was the largest bust in Missouri history. In this picture, you were standing there in the cellar, standing in front of thousands of bricks of meth. You had the biggest, cockiest grin on your face...it still makes me laugh! Anyway, you were injected not too long after that picture was taken."

Tom thinks for a bit, but still doesn't seem convinced. "When? I have no memory of this ever happening."

"You and your police friends held a party one night. You fell asleep, and your friends dragged you into the woods on the couch you were lying on and just left you there as a prank in the middle of the night. While you were passed out, Elena snuck up and injected you in your neck. To make sure you didn't wake up, she put a rag of Chloroform on your mouth while she did it. You didn't suspect a thing..."

Tom shakes his head, then feels his neck, noticing the scar from when he was shot, but that's not important now. "I thought I had a spider bite on my neck the next morning, but I didn't feel any different...just a bit embarrassed that I was out there in the woods by myself!"

Mary chuckles a bit. "I'll always remember that day because that's the day you got the call from Eduardo Munoz with the CIA Anti-Cartel."

Tom sighs and he looks off into the wood. "I thought for sure I was going to hell because of what I did in the Anti-Cartel..."

Mary cuts him off. "You had me worried there for a while, especially after what happened to your friend, Matt Aguero."

Tom flashes her an angry look. "Mom, I've made a vow to never even THINK about all that transpired with Matt...please don't bring his name up again. Too many bad memories..."

Mary nods her head quickly, understanding she crossed a line. "I'm sorry. I know that was a different time for you."

Tom shakes his head in dismay, then looks out to the driveway. "So, who was that guy you were talking to in that red car?"

Mary shakes her head back. "I can't say..."

"Uh, why?"

Mary looks at Tom with a bit of a frown. "Because he asked me not to tell you."

Tom lets out a disappointed chuckle, shakes his head, then asks "Ok, what did you two talk about?"

Mary smiles back. He knows Tom's going to like this next part. "We were talking how you're going to come back to life."

Tom stands up quickly like he was just zapped by a taser and looks completely shocked. "What? I'm going back?"

Mary nods as she stands up with a smile. "Yes. Nadia was right in the van...it's not your time yet. There's still more in store for you two!"

Tom starts pacing in disbelief and grabs his neck again, feeling the scar from the bullet. "Mom, I'm pretty sure my carotid artery is completely severed..."

"Not completely, but that's not important. The point is you still have a purpose to fulfill in life with Nadia."

Tom stops pacing and looks back at Mary. "What? What purpose? I fulfilled the one promise I had left to keep: I paid Nadia back for saving my life in 2001."

Mary laughs. "Come on, Tom! You know that you had so much more you wanted to accomplish with her. And you're going to get that chance. You two are special and she needs you in her life. And you will be."

Tom looks encouraged by what Mary is saying, but is still incredulous a bit. "I guess Rambaldi can't let 'The Connection' go to waste..."

Mary shakes her head. "Not just that. I'm referring to what ELSE flows in your veins."

Tom looks really curious now. "You know what the other anomaly is?"

"Yes. That's why you're here right now. You and Nadia need to see for yourselves how it works."

Tom walks up and stands directly in front of his mom's face. "Mom, tell me...what does this anomaly do?"

Mary smiles, and as she goes to say something, her alarm clock on her watch starts beeping. She raises her eyebrows surprised, like time suddenly snuck up on her. "Oh, we better get to the hospital..."

Tom now looks confused. "What hospital?"

Mary looks up at Tom and says "The one where you're lying dead in right now. I have to show you something. We have to time this just right. You'll see in a moment."

Before Tom can respond, Mary grabs Tom's hand and a bright blue light flashes.

* * *

_**Los Angeles (in the real world)** _

Tom and Mary appear in the waiting room at the hospital. Tom looks around and surveys his surroundings.

His heart sinks when he sees an emotionally distraught Nadia sitting on a chair, leaning forward and looking very tense. Sydney has now arrived and sitting next to her, is trying to keep her calm.

Tom looks over at Mary with a look of concern. He whispers "Can they see and hear us?"

Mary looks at Tom and shakes her head. "No. We're invisible and inaudible to them."

"How were you able to talk to me?"

"I could teach you, but it would take a lot of time...time we don't have."

Just as she says that, a female doctor with blood on her gloves and hospital garb walks up to Sydney and Nadia.

Nadia shoots out of her seat and asks "Is Tom ok?"

The doctor looks down remorsefully. "We couldn't stop the bleeding. His heart gave out. I'm sorry, he's gone."

It takes a flash for Nadia's knees to buckle and the tear and grief to swell up in her. As she hits the ground, she screams "NOOOOOOOO!" and starts slapping and beating the ground with her right hand, her eyes buried in her left. How she loved him and now, it's all over. He's gone.

Sydney quickly scrambles over to console her, but it's not effective. Nadia's a total, uncontrollable basketcase right now.

Meanwhile, Tom just closes his eyes. He expected this type of reaction from her, but it hurts all the same. "This hurts to watch..."

Mary pats Tom on the shoulder. "Don't worry, this is only temporary."

Nadia, after a few seconds, stops crying long enough to get back to her feet. With her right hand throbbing from her attack of the floor, she asks the doctor "Can I see him? I just want to say goodbye to him..."

The doctor nods her head. "Sure, right this way."

Nadia and Sydney follow the doctor down the hallway. Tom and Mary, still invisible to them, also follow along.

* * *

In Tom's hospital room, we see Tom's body lying dead on the hospital bed. His neck is still a bloody mess, but he otherwise looks peaceful.

Nadia walks up to Tom's dead body slowly while Sydney waits outside the hospital room with the doctor. Afterlife Tom and Mary walk in to the room and stand next to Nadia as she grabs real-life Tom's dead right hand with both hands and gives it a kiss after lifting it up to her mouth. With tears still very present in her eyes, she looks at Tom's resting face, refusing to believe he's gone. "I miss you so much already...we still had so much more to live for..."

Afterlife Tom asks Mary "When can I go back? I can't take this..."

Mary looks back over at afterlife Tom and intently says "I have to tell Nadia how to save you first."

"You can talk to her, too?"

Mary smiles reassuringly. "Yes. That man in the car tells me I can talk to any of my children as well as Irina Derevko and her children."

"Huh? Why them?"

Mary shakes her head. "He wouldn't say. Anyway, when you get back to life, give Karen a call. I'd like you to ask your sister to give you the engagement ring your dad gave me."

Afterlife Tom shrugs. "Uh, why?"

"Because I'd be honored if you gave the ring to Nadia when you proposed to her."

Afterlife Tom starts laughing. "I think it's a little early for wedding bells, Mom!"

"Tom, is there any doubt that this is the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with?" Mary says that with all of the sincerity and honesty a woman like her can give.

"You have a point there."

Mary looks back over at Nadia, who's since pressed Tom's dead hand up to her face in an attempt to mimic what he did with her hand in the van on the way to the hospital. She then says "Now, this part is important. When I'm done talking to Nadia, all you have to do is lie down on your body. You'll be absorbed back into it and have life again. You'll probably be in a coma still for a day or two, but you'll come out of it. Wait for my signal to go in."

Afterlife Tom nods his head, ready to return to life...and Nadia.

Mary then walks over and stands to the left of Nadia. She leans in and whispers in to the left ear of a sobbing Nadia. " _Nadia..."_

Nadia's eyes bug out a bit and she stops sobbing. She turns around and looks outside the door. She sees Sydney is talking with the doctor and not paying attention to them.

" _Nadia, this is Mary, Tom's mother."_

Afterlife Tom observes his mother. She's making this look natural.

Nadia turns back and looks back at real-life Tom in disbelief. Her lip quivering a bit, she whispers "Why...why did you take my best friend away from me? I loved your son so much!"

Mary smiles, even though she knows Nadia can't see it. Hopefully, she hears it, though. " _My son died so I could show you both what you each carry in your bloodstream. You two share 'The Connection' as well as another agent in your body called 'The Lifeforce' that allows you to heal each other in times of crisis like this."_

Nadia's jaw drops, surprised that there might be hope for Tom.

Afterlife Tom flashes a similar surprised look, now that he knows just what that other anomaly in his bloodstream is.

Nadia, still struggling with her emotions, asks "I...I can bring him back to life?"

" _In a sense._ _My son is going to come back to life on his own in a few seconds, but time is going to be of the essence. You'll only have a window of about 20 minutes, provided you plug up the wound in his neck somehow. So you need to act quickly. You need to convince the doctor outside the door that Tom needs a blood transfusion from you. You both are A-negative, and you can save time by giving Tom your blood right here and now. Tell her that, and she should believe you. Sydney too. Trust me."_

Nadia, still hopefully looking at real-life Tom as all of this is happening, asks "What's going to happen when he starts getting my blood?"

" _Well, you're going to see something amazing happen. But give him some time, he's still going to be in coma for a day or two once the healing is done. His body needs to recover."_

Nadia wipes away the tears on her face and looks relieved. "Thank you for telling me this. And thank you for giving back the best thing that ever happened to me...your son! I promise I'm going to love him so, so much when he's back!"

_"I believe you will! You make Tom so happy. I'm so glad you two found each other. In fact, Tom's smiling as he stands across the bed!"_

As Afterlife Tom looks over at Mary, Nadia looks over to the void between the bed at the wall, like she's looking for Tom himself. She smiles at the nothingness in front of her. "Tom, you kept that stupid lifedebt promise, so I will keep my promise to love you! You make it so easy for me to keep that promise!"

_"He heard that! You should see how red his cheeks are!"_

Afterlife Tom gives Mary an offended look. "I never blush!"

After Mary laughs at Tom, which Nadia can hear, she tells her _"Oh_ , _and a little advice...his feet are extremely ticklish!"_

Nadia suddenly laughs loudly, which causes Sydney and the doctor to look into the room a little conspicuously. She quickly covers her mouth, but knows it's pointless now.

Meanwhile, Afterlife Tom gives his Mom an irritated look. "MOM! You traitor!"

Mary gives Tom a wide, sarcastic grin. Still audible to Nadia, she tells Tom _"Well, you are! You would laugh your little butt off when I ticked your feet when you were a baby!"_

Nadia keeps laughing, her mouth still covered by her hand. It's behavior that is really, really peculiar to Sydney and the doctor and they're walking back into the room.

The doctor gives her a funny look behind her back and tells her "Ok, we have to take him away now..."

Nadia looks back and, the happy moment now gone, shakes her head fearfully. "No! He's coming back to life!"

Sydney walks up to Nadia and puts her hand on her shoulder, guessing that Nadia's just in denial. "Nadia, Tom's gone. I know it's hard to let go..."

With a frantic look on her face, Nadia quickly stands up and grabs Sydney's shoulders like she was possessed. "No! You don't understand! He's coming back, and I can save him!"

Mary then looks over at afterlife Tom quickly. "You might want to jump in now."

Afterlife Tom smiles. "Thanks. I love you, Mom. Hopefully I don't see you again for a while."

Mary smiles and shakes her head. "You won't...and I love you too. Now, go!"

And with that, the spirit of Tom Falk jumps back into the dead Tom Falk. Mary immediately disappears from his view, and Tom's world goes dark again.

As Sydney tries to console a frantic Nadia, something that she and the doctor weren't expecting happened...

They hear a heartbeat on Tom's heart monitor.

And then another. And another...The doctor looks over quickly at the monitor, not believing what she's seeing.

As she tries to make sense of this, Tom suddenly takes a deep breath, his first physical sign of life since he died, causing the doctor to jump back and Sydney and Nadia to look over with surprised looks.

Tom remains unconscious. Blood also starts to flow from the bullet hole in his neck.

As the doctor and Sydney stand there trying to figure out what is going on, Nadia pleads with the doctor. "I need to give him a blood transfusion! We're both A-negative, and he won't make it unless he gets the blood he needs right now!"

The doctor looks at Nadia astonished. "Well, he has lost a lot of blood, but it's all pointless if that hole in his neck isn't plugged. Plus, if he's to have any chance, he needs to be sent into surgery."

Sydney then says "He still could use the blood now. I'll plug the hole while Nadia gives Tom blood to at least get him going." Sydney feels it's hopeless, but if it helps calm Nadia down, then why not. Besides, he IS alive again, and it really can't hurt for him to get blood.

The doctor looks back at Tom, still dumbfounded that Tom has returned after about 10 minutes of being dead without any attempt at resuscitation. Eventually, she just throws her hands up. "Alright, let's do it."

Nadia walks over and pulls a chair over next to Tom's bedside while the doctor and Sydney wash off their hands. Sydney and the doctor then dry off their hands and grab some rubber gloves. Then, they start to grab gauze pads and the things they need for a blood transfusion.

As they do that, Nadia sits down and holds Tom's hand. Smiling as she looks at his face, she says "I can't wait to see you again...I knew there was more in store for us."

Sydney and the doctor rush over to Tom's side. Sydney grips a pad of gauze in some tongs and gently presses it into Tom's bullet hole to try to stem the tide of blood coming out of his neck.

Meanwhile, the doctor rubs alcohol on the inside of Nadia's left elbow, then hangs an empty blood bag that has two tubes coming out of it. As she does that, she looks over at Tom's heart monitor and sighs. "He's really struggling. We need to get this going now. I'll need to fill the bag first. That could take about 10 minutes. I'm not sure he has that long..."

Nadia quickly and rather insistently replies "He'll make it...I know he will."

Sydney looks at her a little funny. Nadia seems a little...TOO convinced of Tom's odds. But, she quickly snaps out of it as she grabs another gauze pad from the tray next to her. She quickly pulls out the blood-soaked gauze pad in Tom's neck and replaces it with the clean pad and puts it back in the hole. It's taking no time at all for the gauze pads to become completely inundated with dark red blood.

Meanwhile, the doctor takes one of the tubes from the blood bag and attaches a needle at the end of it. Then, she leans over and inserts it into Nadia's left elbow. Immediately, blood starts funneling out of Nadia's vein into the tube and starts filling the bag. The doctor watches the blood transfer take place and nods in satisfaction. "Ok, you have a very good rate of flow. I'll be back in a few minutes, I'm going to prep him for surgery."

Nadia just nods, continuing to look longingly at Tom and knowing that surgery won't be necessary.

The doctor walks out of the hospital room, leaving Sydney and Nadia in there with Tom.

Nadia looks back at Tom and grabs his hand again. "Hang in there...you're going to be ok. I know you will."

* * *

About 8 minutes later, the doctor walks back in. By now, the bag is basically full. The doctor looks over at Tom's heart monitor and looks somewhat surprised. "Hmm, not much change. Good job plugging the hole, Sydney."

Sydney just cracks a small smile. It's been a pain to keep changing the gauze pads, though. Each one lasts maybe 20 seconds. Still, it's Tom, and there's a chance he could make it through, just like there was a remote chance she would survive long enough for Tom to save her in Cuba. She's got to give him that chance.

The doctor reaches down and pulls the needle out of Nadia's elbow, then puts a cotton ball on it and tapes it up. She then grabs an alcohol pad and rubs the inside of Tom's right elbow. She grabs the other tube coming from the now-filled blood bag, attaches a needle at the end, and then sticks it into Tom's right elbow.

The doctor stands back and looks at the blood bag. She sees the blood is now flowing into Tom's body. Satisfied, she grabs some of Sydney's used up gauze pads and walks away to toss them out.

Meanwhile, Nadia just watches on hopefully as Tom's rapid pulse starts to slow down somewhat. The blood is already working!

Sydney decides it's time to change her pad, so she pulls her pad out of Tom's neck. Now without any fresh pads, she walks over to where the doctor is near the sink and grabs a pad from a box on the table. With that done, Sydney walks back and puts the pad in between the tongs and reaches down to plug the hole again.

Only...there's no longer a hole in his neck to plug.

Sydney leans back suddenly in shock. "Doctor!"

The doctor rushes over from the sink while Nadia leans in and sees that there is now a round spot of untouched skin where the bullet hole was, surrounded by dried blood all around his neck.

The doctor looks at the spot where the hole used to be and just drops her jaw. "I...I don't...how?"

Meanwhile, Nadia looks down at Tom's right elbow...but then, something else catches her eye. Nadia, still looking at Tom's right arm, says "Sydney! Doctor! Look at his scar!"

Sydney and the doctor look at Tom's arm and see that his long Project Alloy scar on his right arm is fading away. The red line that lies within the canyon-like scar is a distant memory. Even the part where his skin is elevated from the puffiness that forms the canyons is starting to even out.

The doctor just can't believe her eyes at what she's seeing. None of them can believe it.

Sydney, also in a state disbelief, then looks up at Nadia. "I wonder if the scars on the rest of his body are fading too..."

Nadia gasps and looks at Tom's eyes. What a pleasant surprise this will be for him if all of his scars vanish!

With that, the doctor quickly runs over to the other side of the room, where the sink is, and grabs a pair of scissors. She runs back over and starts cutting down the middle of the front of Tom's black shirt. She then cuts the shirt from the collar to the end of his sleeve and flips the shirt off of Tom. She looks at Tom's upper body, along with Sydney and Nadia.

No more scars. In fact, there's nothing out of the ordinary at all!

She then turns back to Nadia in a look of surprised confusion. "There were scars here?"

Nadia holds her hand to her mouth and sits down in disbelief. With her hand still over her mouth and her eyes starting to water, she utters "Mary...you were right. This is amazing..."

Sydney and the doctor heard what she said and look at her suspiciously.

Meanwhile, Nadia hears a familiar voice. " _I knew you would come through, Nadia. Good job. I would be so proud to call you my daughter-in-law. And that day might come before you know it..."_

A smile forms and tears start to stream from Nadia's eyes after she hears what Mary just had to say. After all, Tom's her guy, and her guy is alive again and he's going to be better than ever without his scars!

Sydney, thinking that the miracles that are happening are starting to sink in for her sister, walks over to Nadia and gives her a hug. It's returned by a Nadia, who's still in a state of joyful disbelief.

Meanwhile, the doctor looks at Tom's heart monitor again and just shakes her head at what she's seeing. "This is completely unbelievable. His pulse is normalizing...his heart-rate is stabilizing...his blood-pressure is improving...his neck is fine...his scars are gone...I just can't believe this." The doctor then walks out of the room, absolutely at a total loss over what she's seen.

Sydney releases the hug from Nadia and now also sports a look like she understands what's going on now. "This is from one of your anomalies, right?"

Nadia wipes the happy tears she streamed and looks up at Sydney with a smile. "Yes! The anomaly that our bodies create naturally can heal each other from even the worst wounds. It's called 'The Lifeforce'."

Sydney folds her arms and has a curious look on her face. "How do you know? I thought the doctors were still stumped on what that anomaly even does."

Nadia then looks back at Tom with a confident smirk on her face. While looking at him, she tells Sydney "His mother just told me."

Now Sydney is completely stumped. "What? Tom's mother is dead!"

Nadia looks back at Sydney with that confident smirk. "I talked to her while you were in the hallway. She talked to Tom a couple nights ago and predicted Tom would die soon. And today, she told me what to do before Tom returned to life."

Sydney just shakes her head in total disbelief. "Nadia, that's...insane. You can't talk to the dead...that's just not possible."

Nadia shakes her head slowly. "After today, I believe anything is possible now."

Sydney digests that comment for a bit. Rambaldi has been full of surprises, but maybe none bigger than defying death altogether like Tom has just now. After a few seconds, her cell phone rings and she answers. "Hey, Tom's alive. He's going to make it."

Back at APO, a suddenly shocked Jack quickly responds "He's what? I just got a call from the hospital that he was dead!"

As she's on the phone, she looks back down at Nadia, who's now back to watching over Tom. Sydney just responds "Dad...something amazing happened today. Nadia saved his life...in fact, I think you should talk to her about it."

Nadia looks up at Sydney and says "I want to stay with Tom for a little while."

Jack, hearing Nadia from a distance on the phone, tells Sydney "Alright, I'll head in to the hospital and I'll de-brief her there. I should be there in about a half-hour." Jack then hangs up the phone and looks across the conference room table, where Sloane is sitting. "Tom's alive, and apparently, your daughter had something to do with it."

Sloane raises his eyebrows. The fact that Tom's alive and that he's alive because of Nadia both equally surprise him. "What did she do?"

Jack looks down at the table. "Sydney did not say. But I have a suspicion. I need to talk to her to confirm it."

Sloane stands up. "I'm going with you. I want to hear this myself."

Jack stands up quickly. "Sloane, you shouldn't..."

Sloane defiantly asks "And why shouldn't I hear what my daughter has to say? My agent DIED and somehow, thanks to my Nadia, he's alive again...back from the dead. I want to know why."

Jack looks at Sloane blankly and thinks about what he's about to say.

"Jack, what are you not telling me?" a demanding Sloane asks.

Finally, Jack says it. "I think Rambaldi just saved Tom's life."

**END OF CHAPTER**


	15. They'll Think We're Crazy

_Timeline of chapter: Starts between Season 4, Episode 14 and 15_

* * *

_**Tom's hospital room** _

Tom continues to lie peacefully in his hospital bed. He has an IV hooked up to his arm and an oxygen mask over his mouth. His heart is back to having a fairly normal rhythm, now being helped by another blood bag being transfused into him. It's not Nadia's, since they determined her blood did its job already. Instead, it's A-negative blood they had on hand. On top of all that, Tom's body doesn't look as pale as it once did, either.

Meanwhile, Sydney and Nadia are standing near the door, discussing what just transpired about 30 minutes ago. Tom was dead. Done. Gone. History. When someone takes a bullet to the neck, even with Nadia's painstaking efforts to stem the flow of bleeding and Marshall's barreling down Los Angeles roadways to get him to the hospital, the chances of survival are fleeting at best. 

But no. Tom would not die this day. It wasn't his time yet. 

And that...that has Sydney at a complete loss. Rambaldi has done some amazing things with his prophecy, but it's becoming apparent that he's saved the best goodies for Nadia and Tom. The Connection helps bind the two together in a relationship that has made the two practically co-dependent on another due to the love in their hearts, the Rambaldi Fluid has Nadia channel Rambaldi himself in a very painful way, and now The Lifeforce can bring Tom or Nadia back from the brink if the other gives them his or her blood. Oh, then there's that whole Project Alloy thing with Tom. It's a lot for Sydney to process, and she turns to Nadia for help. "My dad is going to be here any minute. How do we handle this?"

Nadia, meanwhile, has kept a small, satisfied smile on her face ever since Tom returned to life and her blood set him straight. Her love is back! But, she hasn't really thought of how to handle things. She just decides the truth is the best option. "What do you mean? We'll tell him what happened..."

"Nadia, you told me your were talking to his dead mother. When everyone at APO hears that, they'll think we're crazy!"

Nadia shakes her head quickly. "But it's what happened! You have to believe me! How else would I have known to give him a blood transfusion?"

Sydney looks at the floor and shakes her head. "I want to believe you, but this just seems..."

Nadia grabs her shoulder and cuts her off. "Sydney, a lot of things about Rambaldi don't seem to make any sense, or don't seem possible...but they are. I believe anything is possible now."

"But what's Rambaldi endgame with Tom? I know we're 'supposed' to fight, but what is his role in all of this?"

Nadia looks down and shakes her head. No answers come to mind. "I don't know, Sydney. I wish I did. But, there has to be a reason that Rambaldi gave me the ability to save him...and to love him so much."

"There must be a document or something..."

Sydney's cut off when Nadia turns away and spots Jack and Sloane walking into the room. Nadia locks eyes with Sloane and gets a look of fury in her face.

Sloane is not sure what to make of Nadia's expression at him and fears the worst. "Is Tom still ok?"

Nadia, suddenly consumed by anger, ignores his question and grabs Sloane and drives him back first into the wall to their left! She screams in his face "HOW COULD YOU?!"

Jack and Sydney run over to break them up. Sydney holds a furious Nadia back while Jack stands by a completely confused and astonished Sloane.

With Nadia thrashing in her arms, Sydney asks "Nadia, what is going on?"

An astonished Sloane adjusts his glasses. "I'd like to know the same thing!"

Nadia calms down a bit and Sydney lets go after Nadia tries to pry her hands apart. Nadia catches her breath before looking up at Sloane with seething anger. "The whole 'meeting' was just a giant trap for Hans Janssen to capture me and inject me with something that would make me want to kill my sister! When Tom asked him who he was working for, Hans said YOU sent him!"

Sloane starts shaking his head, perplexed. "Nadia, I have no prior dealings with this man. That's preposterous."

"Then why did he say he saw you this morning? Why did he seem so sure it was you?"

Before Sloane can answer, Jack turns to him and asks "Where WERE you this morning? You weren't in the office until after Tom and Nadia left."

Sloane looks at Jack incredulously. "Jack, you knew I had APO business to attend to. Besides..." Sloane looks back over at Nadia. "...what motive would I have to hurt my own daughter? Or Tom, for that matter?"

Always one to take Sloane with a sea's worth of salt, Sydney jumps in for Nadia. "Because you're still obsessed with Rambaldi and because you still hate Tom."

Sloane shakes his head dismissively. "You're way off base on both counts. I've made my choice in life when it comes to Rambaldi, and I chose my daughter instead. As for Tom, yes, we had our disagreements in the past, but if I hated him so much, why would I push for his promotion after we learned of his Project Alloy surgery? Plus, why would I want to take away the thing that makes Nadia the happiest?"

Nadia hangs her head, digesting what her father just said. There's loads of logic in what Sloane had to say, and she really can't refute any of it. She is starting to understand that Sloane can be deceptive, but nothing that he just said raised any flags for her. She looks back up at Sloane. "So, why would Hans say that he's working for you?"

"I have no idea. This man is a stranger to me, and it sounds like that's all he'll be. But you have to trust me. I had nothing to do with what happened to you or Tom."

Now, it's Sydney's turn to shake her head. "So that's it. We're just supposed to believe you because you say we should."

"Sydney, you can believe what you want. But I assure you, the truth will come out in the end. I had nothing to do with what happened this morning."

Nadia buys it...for now. She hangs her head and takes a seat on a chair outside of Tom's hospital door.

After some silence, Jack tells Nadia "Nadia, we'd like to send you back to the office site with Marshall to walk through with us what happened. You said Hans tried to inject you with something?"

"Yeah, he tried to inject me with tap water. There was a Rambaldi sphere on the table next to me..."

Sloane looks down, looking in deep thought. "How big was the sphere?"

"Small, maybe the size of a softball."

Still looking down, Sloane shakes his head and lets out a snicker. He mumbles "Amateurs..."

Jack, Nadia, and Sydney give him curious looks. It's Sydney that asks "You want to unpack that a little for us?"

Sloane looks up at Nadia. "Nadia, nothing would have happened had he actually injected you. In order for the tap water to have had the effect he desired, the sphere would have had to have been the size of this hospital at the minimum."

Jack gives Sloane a look of disbelief. "How do you know all of this?"

Sloane looks at Jack with a look like he should know better. "You seem to forget that I was obsessed with Rambaldi. I just know that Hans' mission would have failed. It would have been nice if Tom left Hans alive, to see what his plans really were..."

Nadia stands up quickly, ready to defend her guy. "Tom shot him trying to protect me! And in the process, Hans shot him! Tom had no choice!"

Sloane cracks a smirk at her, as if he doesn't disagree with her. "I realize that. I'm happy you both are going to be ok from this. Now, I have to ask...what did you do to save Tom's life?"

Nadia and Sydney exchange glances. Nadia then looks at Jack, unsure if she wants to say how he saved his life to Sloane.

Jack picks up on that, but it's too late to keep this from Sloane. "Tell him."

Nadia blurts out "But, it's Rambaldi..."

Sloane now looks intrigued. "What about him?"

Nadia hangs her head. "Me and Tom have two Rambaldi devices floating in our bloodstreams."

Jack's eyebrows shoot upward. "Two? I only knew of the one..."

Sloane looks at Jack surprised. "You knew they were injected with a Rambaldi device and you didn't tell me?"

Jack turns to Sloane with a scowl. "You know why the three of us kept this a secret from you."

As Sloane glares at Jack, Nadia continues. "You're right, we only knew of 'The Connection' up until this morning."

Sloane quickly perks up. "I was under the impression that was something that connected two artifacts..."

"No. At some point in our lives, we were injected with it by Elena Derevko. It interacts with our pheromones and literally 'connects' us."

An impatient Jack continues. "But the other anomaly in your bodies is still unknown..."

Nadia shakes her head slowly. "Not anymore. It's called 'The Lifeforce.' That's what enabled me to save Tom's life."

Sloane shakes his head, not believing Nadia one bit. "Nadia, I knew about 'The Connection' decades ago. But, there is no such thing as 'The Lifeforce'."

Nadia gives Sloane a rather self-assured look. "Tom's bleeding carotid artery, bullet hole, AND his Project Alloy scars were healed in the matter of seconds of my blood after it entered his body! You can go see him for yourself! Sydney was there, she saw it all. The Lifeforce is real!"

Sloane looks at Sydney, who nods her head. "I helped plug Tom's bullet hole while Nadia was filling up a blood bag. A few seconds after Nadia's blood started getting transferred into Tom's body, his bullet hole closed up in seconds, and his scars started fading away before vanishing completely. It happened as Nadia described. I've never seen anything like it in my life."

Sloane looks down at the ground and shakes his head, still not sold. "Rambaldi never said anything of a third player in his prophecy, or 'The Lifeforce'. This is so strange, even for me."

Meanwhile, Jack asks Nadia "How did you know to give Tom a blood transfusion?"

Nadia looks at Sydney worried.

Sydney takes a deep breath, turns to Jack, and starts to say "Because...she..."

Nadia cuts her off. Time to own this. "Because I talked to Tom's mother before he returned to life." Sydney looks at Nadia surprised as she says that.

Jack and Sloane give her similar shocked looks. It's Sloane that says "His mother died decades ago. You couldn't have possibly..."

"I did talk to her! She told me what to do to save Tom! Why doesn't anyone believe me?"

Almost like a big sister teaching her little sister a lesson after she talked to an imaginary friend, Sydney tells Nadia "Because it's just not possible..."

Nadia looks at Sydney with an irritated look. But, before she can say anything, a familiar voice returns " _Sydney, I'm Tom's mother. Nadia talked to me. I walked her through everything."_

Sydney LOUDLY gasps and suddenly looks spooked as staggers back suddenly. Where did THAT come from?

This alarms Jack and Sloane, who aren't hearing the voice. Meanwhile, Nadia quickly realizes what she's hearing and smiles.

Sydney then starts shaking her head, then covers her ears. "This is not happening..."

The voice of Mary Falk returns.  _"Tom and Nadia had similar reactions when they heard me the first time. It's ok, Sydney, this is real. In addition to Tom, I can also talk to you and Nadia as well as your mother."_  

Sydney, in full acceptance that Mary Falk is real and she's hearing her right now, can't help but raise her eyebrows at that last part. "My mom's...dead."

_"She's alive...at least she was as of about a month ago."_ _  
_

Always having loved her mother as Tom did hers, Nadia can't help but be curious over this development. "Mary, how do you know?"

Before she can get an answer, a concerned Jack walks up to Sydney. "Sydney, what is it?"

Nadia turns to Jack. "Mary Falk is talking to her." As Jack flashes her a surprised look, Nadia looks down at the ground. "Mary, how do you know about our mother?"

_"Because I can communicate with her as well. I've never had a reason to, and I wouldn't know where to look for her on earth if I wanted to. But, I was told she's still alive. Anyway, I have to go. I can't abuse my privileges. Keep looking out for my son, ladies..."_

Nadia and Sydney then just look at each other. Sydney then gives Nadia an understanding nod. "I'm sorry I doubted you, Nadia."

Nadia smiles innocently. "It's ok, I understand. I didn't believe Tom at first when he said she talked to him a few days ago. But here she is!"

Sloane asks "Is she still there?"

Nadia shakes her head at him. "No. But, she's been told my mother is still alive as of a month ago. She has no intel backing that up, though, just something someone told her."

Jack turns away and remains silent as death. Jack shot Irina...he watched her splash into the pool and watched the pool of blood form around her. So why did Mary say she was still alive? Is she right? Was the Irina he saw...not really Irina?

Sloane interjects, cutting off Jack's train of thought. "Well, I think today's events have confirmed that Tom is involved in the Rambaldi prophecy. The question is...what's his purpose? There has to be a document or evidence somewhere. In the meantime, Nadia, I'll go with you, Jack and Marshall and try to find anything on Hans that might give us a link into his syndicate. We need to find out why he's going around telling people he works for me. In the meantime, have doctors said when Tom's going to be awake?"

Nadia smirks. "Tom's mother told me that he'd be awake in a day or two. And she hasn't been wrong so far."

Sloane nods. "I see. Anyway, I'd really like to hear how things went from Tom's perspective. But, I think we have all we need to get us started for now."

"I'll keep an eye on Tom and let you know when he re-awakens." Nadia says rather determinedly.

Sloane smirks. "I assumed you'd want that task. After your ordeal this morning and given that Tom will need time to recover, I'm giving you the rest of the week off. After all, your connection with Tom is...unbreakable, right?"

Nadia smirks back, knowing he's referring to a conflict they had in the conference room before the Minsk mission a while ago.

"Come on, Nadia, let's go" an impatient Jack tells Nadia. She walks away with Jack and Sloane to go to the office building where Hans was shot.

Sydney just hangs back and sits down, still a bit rattled at the day's events. She now knows what it's like to talk to the dead. That takes a certain amount of mental understanding that just isn't coming to her right now.

* * *

_Nadia walks Jack, Sloane, and Marshall through the office. They find the four dead men Tom killed in the other side of the building, but don't find anything of consequence on them. Then, they go to the room where Nadia was being held and find Hans lying on the floor, dead. A search of his body reveals a cell phone. They find a few phone numbers as well as some vague emails and text messages, but nothing materializes of note. They also found out that the glass syringe and original vial of tap water that Hans tried to inject Nadia with had both shattered, presumably in Hans' fall, so they can't find out anything about it's contents. Later that day, Vaughn returns from his hunt for his father, revealing to APO that 'Sloane' was behind his wild goose chase for the truth about his father, further thickening the plot around Sloane. Also, Dixon is shot during Vaughn's shenanigans and Nadia takes a moment away from Tom and talks to Katya Derevko about her mother, much to the chagrin of Sydney. They don't get far enough for Nadia to ask about Mary's claims that Irina is alive before Katya has the allergic reaction to the chocolate Nadia gives her._

_The timeline of this chapter now resumes between Episodes 15 and 16 in Season 4._

* * *

_**Tom's hospital room- 2 days later** _

Nadia sits next to Tom's unconscious body, with her head resting on Tom's lap. She had fallen asleep a few hours ago in her long sleeve blue shirt and jeans after being with Tom for much of the last two days. She thought about staying at the hospital like Tom did for her after Anna shot her weeks ago, but there's no further threat on Tom's life. Tom wiped out everyone in that warehouse and his role in Rambaldi's prophecy is still unknown to just about everyone outside of APO, as far as she knows, so there's no protection needed. But, she does choose to stay at Tom's house the night before, if nothing else to get used to living there more.

It's 6:34 in the morning. The sun starts to crack outside, signaling the start of the new day. The hospital room is dark, as it has been all night. There is a small, white fluorescent light over Tom's bed that is still on, providing some light. As for Tom himself, he's out like a light, but looking a lot better. The only sound in the room comes from Tom's heart monitor, which shows very normal vitals.

Between Tom getting shot and her dealings with Katya Derevko the other day, Nadia has had a trying couple of days. In fact, yesterday dragged so slowly for her. She spent most of it at Tom's side, hoping that he'd suddenly pop up and go back to loving her. But it hasn't happened yet. Still, she felt better being by Tom's side...even if he wasn't conscious. She watched TV with him, read a book by his side, and even gave him a bath with the nurse's help last night. He was starting to get a little ripe, but it also gave her something to do and she just feels obligated now to take care of him. 

Nadia's sleeping peacefully on Tom's lap. There's nowhere else she wants to be. Even though she's not needed at the hospital to protect him, she just has a feeling he's going to pop awake soon, and she wants to be there for that. 

And she's getting her wish. The stillness is suddenly broken by Tom's right arm twitching. Nadia remains asleep, despite holding Tom's right hand with her left hand.

Tom's eyes slowly open up. He squints a bit, then blinks his eyes repeatedly, trying to get his bearings. He quickly figures out he's in the hospital still, albeit in a different room now. He then lifts up his head a bit and sees Nadia resting on him.

Oh Nadia. The woman that saved his life for the second time in his life is resting on his lap, with her face facing towards him as she sleeps peacefully. The love he has for her hits him like a lightning bolt again. In fact, he recollects how, when she stayed over at his place the previous weekend, he would wake up and watch Nadia sleep. She's so precious to him, so adored by him, that he couldn't resist watching her in sweet, beautiful peace. He really does live for her happiness. And here she is now, in that sweet, beautiful peace.

Tom looks to the right and sees a clock near the sink. He sees it's 6:35 now. Tom looks out the window to his left and sees the sun starting to rise. He realizes it's morning, and this would be about the time they would be getting ready for work.

Tom looks back down at Nadia. Unable to resist, he reaches over and gently brushes away some of her jet-black hair that had fallen over her face with his left hand.

Nadia twitches a bit after feeling Tom's hand on her face, and then opens her eyes when the feeling continues. She immediately sees that Tom was awakened and sits straight up, a little surprised to see him awake.

Seeing her awake, Tom takes off his oxygen mask and, with a warm smile on his face, says "Good morning, beautiful."

Nadia, now beaming from the excitement of seeing Tom alive again, springs up with a bit of a squeal and gives him a big hug, flopping right on top of him. She turns her head and tells Tom through his ear "Good morning, handsome! Welcome back!" She then gives Tom a kiss below his ear on his neck. Then, she pulls away and gives Tom a HUGE kiss on the lips that successfully takes Tom's breath away, followed by a more normal one after Tom takes a deep breath to catch up.

When Nadia pulls back, Tom again brushes some of Nadia's hair back. He then lets out a groggy laugh as he admires Nadia's gorgeous face. "You don't know how happy I am...to be able to keep on loving you."

Nadia smiles even wider, then looks down and starts playing with Tom's collar, her smile shrinking a bit. "Me too. I was so afraid of living without you." Nadia leaves Tom's collar alone and looks back up into his beautiful dark blue eyes. "You're more than my boyfriend...you're my best friend! And I love you so much!"

Tom chuckles a bit, then says in a serious tone "I love you so much, Nadia! And you're my best friend, too!" Now it's Tom's turn to look down and adjust Nadia's collar a bit. "You know, I've never been afraid to die. I know it's a part of life. But, in that van, as I was fighting to live, I realized that I was about to lose you..." He looks back up at Nadia with fear in those blue eyes. "And I never became so afraid of anything in my life."

Nadia grabs Tom's right hand and rubs it gently. "I could tell. I was so afraid, too! But thankfully...things turned out ok! My guy is back!"

Tom looks over at an empty spot in my room, wondering if Mary is there. "Thanks to my mother!"

Nadia smiles wide again, almost giddy over this next part. "Not only did your mom help save your life...she also helped me do something else! Look at your right arm."

Tom looks at her a bit confused, then holds up his right arm. And then...if his jaw could hit the floor, it would have. Instead, it just sits on his chest. His eyes almost pop out of his head from shock. His Project Alloy scar is gone! "Nadia! What..."

"Your arm wasn't all that healed!"

As Nadia gets off of him, Tom then pulls up his shirt and looks at his stomach and chest and sees those scars are gone too. He looks back up at Nadia in absolute astonishment. With all signs of grogginess now out the window and the widest smile Nadia's ever seen on his face, Tom exclaims "Nadia...I don't freaking believe this!"

Nadia giggles out of joy, so happy that Tom is happy that his scars are gone. "Well, believe it! The healing agents in my body healed your scars in addition to your neck! I knew you'd be happy..."

Tom starts laughing and cuts her off in giddy joy. "Happy? I'm ecstatic! Nadia, you don't understand...I wore those scars were like a scarlet letter...a constant reminder of what happened in 2003, and what I still live with inside. And now...now, I don't have to hide my scars to anyone, I don't have to explain them to anyone, and I can just go about life normally! I can wear short sleeves in public again! Project Alloy can no longer define who I am to people!" Tom then grabs his heart suddenly, which is now about beating out of his chest. "Whew! Calm down, Tom!"

Nadia laughs at Tom's burst of energy. "Yeah, calm down! Doctors say your heart is still getting back it's strength after all that blood loss." Nadia then lifts up Tom's arm and gives it a kiss. "I'm glad I could help!"

"Help? HELP?! Nadia, this takes the program I got for your birthday and nukes it out of the water! This is the greatest gift I've ever gotten! Nadia, you're so...so AWESOME!"

Nadia happily laughs and gives Tom a kiss. She's really on Cloud Nine right now and can't remember being this excitedly happy over anything. The first time they had sex ranks up there, but this blows it out of the water. Nadia finally does feel as amazing as Tom is making her out to be.

Tom then asks her "How long have I been out?"

Nadia says "Two days, as your mother thought you'd be."

Tom then looks away to the left and smiles. "Seems like just a few minutes ago, I was standing next to my mom when she was telling you how to save me."

Nadia smiles. "Your mother seems so nice! Were you really blushing when I promised to love you even more?"

Tom shakes his head quickly and defensively. "I don't blush, Nadia. I was flattered, but I don't blush!"

Nadia nods, conceding this round to Tom. But then starts walking to the end of Tom's bed with a mischievous look on her face.

Tom picks up on that and fears for what's about to come. "What are you doing?"

Nadia pulls up Tom's covers at his feet, then looks back at Tom with that mischievous look. "I just wanted to see if what your mom said about your ticklish feet was true!"

Tom's eyes bug out and he says "NO! NO! DON'T!"

Nadia ignores his pleas and starts tickling his feet lightly and Tom squirms in joyful agony. His feet actually are really sensitive, and while he usually isn't this vulnerable to being tickled in his adult life, he's completely defenseless now. After a few seconds, he's finally able to yell "STOP!"

Nadia, laughing hard at seeing the effect of Tom's new-found weakness on him, eventually stops the tickling torture and puts the covers back over his feet. After she stops laughing, she tells Tom "Now, whenever you want to watch hockey or listen to hard rock, I know how to stop you!"

Tom shakes his head and looks back over at the void in the room. "Mom, you freaking traitor!" Tom then looks back down and laughs with Nadia.

As they continue to laugh, the female doctor that helped Tom a few days earlier walks into the room and turns on the light. As she walks up to him, she gives Tom a big smile and says "Good morning!"

Tom smiles back at her. "Good morning to you! Good morning to anything!"

The doctor walks up to the side of Tom's bed and starts looking at his heart monitor. "Sounds like you're feeling good."

Tom nods his head affirmatively. "VERY good, actually. Although my girlfriend here decided to torture me just now by trying to tickle me to death and I now, my body feels like it just ran a marathon, but otherwise, I'm just happy to be alive!"

Nadia giggles a bit. As much as she loves him, she also likes pushing his buttons now and then. It's kind of funny watching Tom get defensive, mostly because his voice gets a little whiny when he does!

The doctor looks at her for a second, then back at Tom. "Well, Nadia saved your life a few days ago. Sydney helped too, but it was Nadia's blood that healed you."

Tom looks at Nadia and smiles warmly. "I know. She's amazing, isn't she?"

As Nadia lets out a touched smile at that comment, the doctor looks over at Tom's vitals and says "Your vitals look really good. While you were out, the CIA ordered a few tests to analyze your reaction to Nadia's blood. I couldn't believe what happened, and I don't think I'd be able to explain it to anyone. Thankfully, the CIA has ordered me to stay silent on the subject, so that makes my life a little easier."

Tom chuckles a bit at that. "Thanks for your help...and thanks for buying Nadia's story on me needing a transfusion. Anyway, how long am I going to be here?"

"We want to keep you for another 24 hours for observation, and then we'll release you, but you'll need to stay off your feet for a couple weeks. Your heart went through some major trauma because of the blood loss. It still needs time to recover. We'll need to release you to someone's care."

Nadia smiles and says with determination "I'll take care of him."

The doctor turns to her and smiles back. "I figured you would."

Tom then feels his stomach growl, breaking up the happy moment. "When's breakfast?"

Before the doctor can answer, Nadia asks "Can I bring him breakfast? There's a diner we both like to eat at that has carryout."

The doctor nods. "Sure, he can eat whatever he wants. I'm not going to restrict his diet." The doctor turns back to Tom with a smile. "Anyway, just keep resting...and try to not let your girlfriend tickle you. Your heart would appreciate that."

Tom and Nadia both share a laugh as the doctor leaves the room.

Tom turns back to Nadia and, hoping she doesn't, asks with a little sadness "You need to go into work?"

Nadia smiles and shakes her head. "No. My father gave me a few days off. He thought I could use a break...it's been a wild couple days. So, I'm going to get your breakfast, and while I'm out, I'll let APO know you're awake. My father wanted to talk to you about what happened a few days ago."

Tom sits up quickly and his smile quickly evaporates. "You're going to let that son of a bitch come to this hospital after what he did to us?!"

Nadia looks down and shakes her head, saddened that the happy vibes have left. "I'm not sure Hans was telling the whole truth."

"Nadia, I can spot a liar a million miles away, and Hans wasn't lying. He talked to Sloane...Sloane's actions put me in the hospital and nearly got you turned into a Rambaldi guinea pig!"

Nadia looks back up from the ground. "We're looking into Hans' allegations...but Tom, my father has no motive to do anything to us!"

"Are you kidding me? You're talking about a man that nearly turned you into a vegetable in Japan after all of those Rambaldi fluid injections! Sloane's not your average, everyday criminal, Nadia! Who knows what his motives are!"

Nadia sighs. "So, you're back to where you started with my father."

Tom throws his arms up in frustration. "Nadia, I've never lost sight of the fact that your father still has a black heart. Now, that heart might be starting to lighten up a few shades, now that you're in his life, but let's not forget that he's historically been more than happy to manipulate the people closest to him. His twisted sense of reality got his wife killed, got Sydney's fiancee killed...do I really have to go on?" Nadia goes to say something, but an intent Tom cuts her off. "Nadia, you tell Jack that I will not allow Sloane into my hospital room. If Jack wants to debrief me and report to Sloane on it later, then that would be fine, I can actually trust Jack. But I will not talk to your father while I'm lying prone and weakened in a hospital. There's no way in hell I'll allow that!"

Nadia then folds her arms. "Don't you believe in innocent until proven guilty?"

Tom then sits back in his hospital bed and sighs. "Look, if Janssen's claims turn out to be false, then I'll happily eat my crow, but as long as I live, I'll always take what your father says and does with more than a few grains of salt. Now, that doesn't mean that I'll try to at least have a working relationship with the man if he's being straight with us, but I still don't trust him and I don't think I ever will." Tom then quickly puts his hand to his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. "Ah, here we go again...your father getting in the way of our relationship...I'm sorry..."

Nadia looks down but doesn't say anything. Tom's rift with Sloane really bothered her before, and she's saddened that rift has returned. After a few seconds, she looks up a little sheepishly and says "I'll go get our breakfast. I love you, Tom."

Tom drops his hand from his forehead and smiles at her, trying to improve her mood that he surely has ruined. "I love you, too. And as long as a heart beats in my chest, I always will love you...no matter what gets in our way."

Those words appear to give Nadia some comfort as she smiles while she walks away.

* * *

About an hour or so later, Nadia returns to Tom's hospital room holding a bag of to-go boxes as well as a quart of milk. She immediately spots Tom standing on his feet, looking at a mirror shirtless. She looks surprised to see he's not in bed. "Tom, what are you doing? You should be resting!"

Tom looks back at her with a wide smile. "I know, but I just had to see what you did to my scars! I still can't believe they're gone, Nadia!"

Nadia smiles as she sets Tom's food on a large round table near the window. "It was my pleasure then, and it's my pleasure now!" Nadia turns back to Tom with a seductive smile that Tom picks up on. "Now, come eat with me!"

Tom puts his shirt back on and starts walking over to the table, toting his IV bag stand with him. When he gets to the table, he opens his box and grins wide when he sees pancakes and sausage. "Oh, thank you so much! This looks great!"

Nadia smiles back as she sets a plastic fork and knife next to Tom's box. "No problem! I'm just glad you're alive so I still even buy you breakfast!" Nadia then starts opening her to-go box and sits down.

Tom takes his seat next to her. Almost immediately, he picks up a sausage patty and takes a satisfying bite, punctuated by a manly "Mmmmm".

Meanwhile, Nadia takes a bite of her omelet and looks back at Tom. "Your mother couldn't have been more nice to me."

Tom smiles at Nadia after he swallows the rest of his sausage patty. "Everyone I knew in Bunker said she was one of the nicest people you'll ever find, and I'm glad got to know that for myself while I was dead. Me and Mom had a nice talk."

Nadia raises her eyebrows at that. "Really? You were with her before you two were in the hospital room?"

Tom smiles as he finishes his bite of pancakes. "Yeah. I went to this...this blue replica of Earth. I was home, in good ol' Bunker, Missouri. My mom was there, the swing-set I spent countless hours on was there...even the picnic table I helped build was there. It all seemed so real!"

Nadia looks really interested now. "So, was this heaven?"

Tom laughs a bit. "That's one of the first things I asked! She said no, but now...I can take some pleasure in knowing what's on the other side. Nadia, after we die, we can be whatever we want, look however we want, and live wherever we want. It's beautiful."

Nadia smiles at the prospect of that, then asks "How did your mom look?"

"Great! Very close to how she looked in that picture of her you saw the other day. She says her appearance in the afterlife was just as it was when she died. Oh, and she also had a lot of things to say about you."

Nadia stops eating and drops her fork in surprise. "Really? What did she say?"

"My mom loves you. In fact, she thinks that we should have hooked up after the Conquistadores mission because, according to her, my wife was cheating on me as the mission took place! I couldn't believe it!"

Nadia now looks upset. "Ugh! The nerve of that woman...you were so loyal to her and she just ripped your heart out."

"Well, my heart was already shredded when I drove away from you by the pier..." Tom then remembers something. "Wait...wait a sec! I couldn't have asked you out after the mission! You told me you had a boyfriend!"

Nadia sighs a bit. "Tom, I lied."

Tom now drops his fork in surprise. "What?"

Nadia looks at Tom with a serious look. "Well, by the time we met, I was breaking things off this guy I was seeing. He still tried coming around, but I was done with him by the time me and you met. If you had asked me out, I would have said yes." Nadia gives Tom a small smile at the end.

Tom hangs his head in shame. "Unbelievable...I suffered for nothing all those years with Kate. My mom didn't want to tell me what all she did behind my back because she knew I'd feel like this."

Nadia then rubs Tom's shoulder a bit. "Tom, the past doesn't matter. We have each other now. Plus, it would have been difficult for the both of us to maintain such a long distance relationship."

"I could have recruited you into Storm Crew...wait...oh crap..." Tom realizes what that might have meant. "And you could have died in Torino...oh no!" Tom then sits back troubled and mortified.

Nadia stands up and gives Tom a hug from behind his chair to try to calm him down. "Tom, don't beat yourself up over what could have been. It's not worth it. What matters is right now. And right now, I get to spend more time with the man I love...and do this..." Nadia then releases the hug. She walks around, sits on Tom's lap and gives him a nice long kiss.

However, the kiss doesn't go any longer because it's interrupted by Jack's voice behind them. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything..."

Nadia jumps off of Tom and looks away, wiping off her face a little embarrassed.

Tom also looks surprised. "Jack, I could say you were interrupting, but you already knew that!"

Jack cracks a tiny smile. "Good to see you're doing well."

Tom smiles wide. "It's good to be well, Jack."

Nadia picks up the box her omelet is in. "You two need to talk? I can leave."

Jack holds up his hand. "No, you can stay. You were a part of the mission, too."

Nadia nods as she sets her omelet back down.

Tom leans forward towards his breakfast. "I hope you don't mind us eating while we debrief. I fell like I haven't ate in two days...oh wait, that's because I haven't."

Jack shrugs as he pulls up a chair next to Nadia. "Don't let me stop you. I want to first address Arvin Sloane..."

Tom shakes his head dismayed. "Nadia tells me that there is a belief that Hans might have been full of crap. I don't believe it. Hans wasn't lying to me."

"Marshall recorded your encounter with Hans through the transmitter he provided you. From what I could tell, it would appear that Hans was telling the truth, but Sloane did have a solid alibi. Traffic cameras and bank cameras confirmed his whereabouts that morning, and at no point did he appear to make contact with Hans Janssen."

Tom shakes his head and doesn't look sold. "Appearances can be deceiving, Jack."

"Don't misunderstand me, Tom. There is a big suspicion surrounding Sloane here. However, we need to know more before we can act. Doing anything now would be extremely naïve."

Tom lets out an understanding nod as he chews on a piece of pancake. "I understand."

"Nadia walked us through the office building, and we spotted the four dead men in the other side of the building. I assume you killed them, correct?"

Tom nods. "Correct, Jack. I had to get myself out of a bit of a pickle there. They were on me like paper on glue."

Jack nods, figuring as such. He actually was impressed that Tom got out of that situation. "As for the encounter with Hans...what made you tape a gun behind your back?"

Tom looks over at Nadia and smiles. "Have you ever seen the movie Die Hard, Jack?"

Nadia then smiles, now putting the pieces together. They had just seen the movie not even a day before the mission.

"I'm not much into movies, Tom." Jack flatly replies.

Tom looks back over at Jack. "Anyway, long story short, I ran out of bullets in my gun. So, I pulled a page out of the main character's playbook: I took a handgun from one of the guys I killed and taped it to the back of my neck and went in to the room with my empty gun drawn. I knew this would allow me to buy myself some leverage. When I dropped my gun, he was able to tell me about Sloane. However, as you heard, it was becoming more and more apparent that he was hell-bent on doing whatever he wanted to do to Nadia, and I knew that I'd have to act quick. So, when it came to draw, I kicked my empty gun towards him and ripped off the loaded gun on the back of my neck and fired. I thought kicking the gun his way would buy me that extra split second to get the job done...unfortunately, he wasn't distracted long and got a shot off before my bullet hit him. When I was down on the ground, I crawled over and cut Nadia's bonds free. Nadia and Marshall took it from there."

Jack nods his head. "Right, Nadia filled me in. I want to move on to something else. Apparently, you, Nadia, and Sydney share the ability to communicate with your deceased mother."

Tom nods his head again. "Yeah. You probably think we're crazy..."

Jack cuts him off. "Based on what I heard and saw after you returned to life, I'm inclined to believe that communication with your mother is possible. While we were discussing what happened after you were revived, your mother talked to Sydney and convinced her that she had indeed talked to Nadia and yourself."

"There's more to that. After I died, I got to talk face to face with my mother. I saw the afterlife, Jack. You won't believe what's on the other side..."

Jack shakes his head. "I'd rather not know. But, I would like to know what you two talked about."

Tom takes a moment to think about this. "Mostly about things that happened earlier in my personal life. However, I did I learn when I was injected with 'The Connection.'"

Nadia quickly interjects "Did she know when I was injected?"

Tom shakes his head. "No. Despite our link, my mom seemed to not have any prior knowledge of you before our encounter in 2001. Then again, she did seem oddly secretive at times..." Tom DID pick up on Mary's coyness at certain points. He mostly figures she was just being careful not to offend him or anything, but he did make a note of it.

Jack, more interested in the original topic, asks "When were you injected?"

Tom quickly turns to Jack. "It happened right before I joined the CIA, when I was still a local police officer. I was dragged out to the woods by my friends while I was sleeping on the couch as a prank. Elena snuck up and injected me while I was asleep. Apparently, she spotted my picture after a meth bust of mine made national headlines and made some sort of connection. I'm guessing she must know about my role in Rambaldi's prophecy, wherever she is." Tom pauses for a moment. "This must mean Elena knows of my role in Rambaldi's prophecy!"

"Knows, or knew. We can't confirm she's alive or dead, Tom." Jack then leans forward. "Did your mother mention anything about your role in the prophecy?"

Tom shakes his head. "No. But, she knew about the anomalies in our blood, including 'The Lifeforce'."

"How did she know about 'The Lifeforce'?"

"A man in a car told her before I arrived. She wouldn't identify the man by name because she was told not to. The man also told my mother how I would come back to life." Tom goes back to his food. 

"We knew about 'The Connection', but 'The Lifeforce' is something that Rambaldi apparently did not write about in any document we have. We also have no idea about what your role in Rambaldi's prophecy is. But, the fact that Elena apparently knows or knew about you leads me to believe that there is a document that details your role somewhere." 

Tom dismissively says "If I even have a role."

"You have a role. Rambaldi wouldn't have gone through all of this with you and Nadia if there wasn't a reason for it."

Tom stops eating for a bit and thinks for a bit, then sighs. "Well, I'm afraid I have nothing else to say about Monday's mission. Seems like you have everything else you need from Nadia and Marshall. I wish I had more answers...but it seems like everything that happened only served to raise more questions."

"We'll get to the bottom of everything. In the meantime, your doctor has ordered you to strongly limit your physical activity. Therefore, you won't be in the field again for a couple of weeks. In fact, Sloane has ordered that you stay home for the rest of this week. He says you can take next week off if you want..."

Tom shakes his head. "No, I can still be of use at work, even if I'm chained to a desk for a while. I'll be fine. In the meantime, the doctor told me you're running some tests on my blood. Any news from that?"

"Early indications say that 'The Lifeforce' in Nadia's body somehow 'communicated' with yours when it entered your body. The samples we ran from both of your blood samples saw the two agents interacting with each other somehow. We also know from a blood sample we took from you yesterday that 'The Lifeforce' can regenerate 'The Connection' that you lost when you bled out. We're still running more tests, though. We're not exactly sure how the agents were able to heal your wounds and scars that quickly."

Tom nods his head. "I understand. Anyway, thanks for checking in."

Jack then stands up and extends his hand for a handshake. "Thanks for your help. I'll see you again in a few days."

Tom reaches over to shake Jack's hand. "Thanks Jack. Oh, and tell Marshall thanks as well."

"Why do you need me to say that to Marshall?"

"Because without his help, I might not have had a chance to come back to life. He busted his ass to help get me to the hospital. He deserves my gratitude." Tom then pauses. "No, wait. Don't say anything yet. I'll take care of that when I get back."

"Understood. Take care."

Tom nods his head back. "You too, Jack."

Jack then walks out as Tom finishes his last bite of food. Tom then looks over at Nadia and smiles as he leans back comfortably satisfied in his chair. "This really hit the spot. Thanks, babe."

Nadia smiles back sarcastically. "You're welcome...babe!"

Tom then slides away his box and leans towards Nadia. "So, I'm going to be released to your tender loving care, Nadia. Does this mean that you're going to make good on your promise to stay at my apartment for a while?"

Nadia cracks a wide smile. "Yeah. In fact..." Nadia reaches over and holds Tom's left hand with both of her hands. "I'm ready to move in with you on a permanent basis...if you'll have me!"

Tom tilts his head a bit and has a pleasantly surprised look on his face. "Yeah? For real?"

Nadia leans forward. "Yes, for real! After the weekend we had, it felt so good waking up next to you and being with you. You said in bed that you want to be with me more...well then let's be together more. After nearly losing you, I want to savor the days we have to spend with each other now. And if I want to stay at Sydney's...I'd like you to stay with me when you can."

Tom smiles wide, ecstatic that Nadia is ready to start the next chapter in their relationship. "Yeah, I'd like that. I like Sydney's coffee. In fact, you may not think much of it, but I enjoy the mornings we all share at the breakfast bar. All the times I sat there drinking coffee with you guys in the early going of my APO run really started the healing process with everything I went through. It felt good to be a part of something again, even if it was just a bunch of us drinking coffee." Tom then looks down at his scar-less right arm. "And speaking of what I went through, I STILL don't know how I'm going to repay you not only healing my Project Alloy scars. I'm back to being normal again!" Nadia laughs a bit, which causes Tom to look at her funny. "What's so funny?"

Nadia stops laughing and says "Normal? You're still crazy!"

Tom laughs at that, then gets up and goes back to his hospital bed. "I'm just crazy in love, Nadia!" He then hops back into his hospital bed.

Much to his surprise, Nadia stands up from the table, walks over, and then climbs up on top of Tom in the bed.

Tom looks at her a bit surprised as she lies down on top of him. "Well, speaking of crazy...I hope you're comfortable!"

Nadia smiles as she rests her chin on her arms, which are folded and lying flat on Tom's chest. She gazes deeply into Tom's eyes and says with a warm smile "With you, I'm always comfortable."

Tom then lightly touches Nadia's face. "I like the view of you from here. Something about this angle makes you look so beautiful, the way you're looking at me right now."

Nadia lifts her chin a bit so she can start lightly touching Tom's face herself. "I like this view, too. And I'm so happy I still get to see you from any angle..." Nadia's voice started to crack towards the end of the sentence. She now looks like she's about to cry.

Tom looks concerned now and starts rubbing her back a bit to try to comfort her. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Nadia, fighting back the tears, pleads with Tom "Promise me you won't leave me again, Tom! Promise me that you'll continue to be there by my side, as you always have! I love you so much...and I don't ever want to lose you again. You've been so good to me..." Nadia then starts openly weeping and buries her face in Tom's chest.

Tom starts tearing up himself, hurt that Nadia is crying. He wraps her up in his arms in a big, warm hug. "Hey...I swear...as long as our hearts keep beating in our chests...I will never abandon you. Like you said Friday night...I couldn't get rid of you if I tried!"

Nadia laughs a bit at that, remembering that comment very well. She lifts her head from Tom's chest and together, they each wipe off each other's tears.

Tom, very sincerely, says "Nadia, you're not just a part of my life. You ARE my life. And you're more than a girlfriend to me. You're my best friend, too. I never want to let you go again!"

Nadia, her voice still somewhat shaking from her crying, replies "I love you, Tom! And I'll never stop loving you! No matter what..."

"I love you, Nadia. And I thank you for being the light in my life."

Then, after looking at each other longingly, they share a very passionate kiss, the first of many they would share because they'd be around to share quite a few more in the future.

Nadia has her guy back. Tom has his gal back. All is right with the world again...for now.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	16. Family Matters

_Timeline of chapter: During Season 4, Episode 16_

* * *

_**Tom's apartment** _

Tom's home from the hospital, having been given a clean bill of health after another overnight stay of observation. Nadia was all too eager to take him home, along with her clothes that were boxed and bagged up. After the two took a nap, with Nadia still lying on Tom all that time, the two talked things over and Nadia agreed to move about 95% of her clothes over to Tom's, leaving some just in case she needs to stay at Sydney's for whatever reason, like Tom and his spare business attire that he leaves at Sydney's.

So while Tom rested away for the night, Nadia was packing up! And Sydney helped her, happy that Tom is back, and happier that Nadia's going to be living with him. Again, she truly likes having Nadia around, but feels that her place is with Tom. Sydney can take care of herself, but Tom's a little...lacking in the home-making department, having left much of that to his ex-wife in the past.

In his bedroom, we see Tom hanging some of Nadia's clothes in his closet. Meanwhile, Nadia is folding some of her clothes and putting them into Tom's dresser. Despite her objections, Tom helped carry a lot of her belongings from Sydney's apartment and up the stairs to his apartment. Perhaps no one is happier that Nadia is moving in than Tom himself. He really can't get enough of her.

Nadia looks over at Tom, who is pulling some of his clothes and tossing them on a pile in an attempt to clear space for Nadia's stuff. She gives him a look of concern, as he looks a little fatigued. "How are you holding up?"

Tom looks over at her and shrugs, hiding his fatigue. "Fine, why?"

"I'm just concerned about you doing too much physical activity..."

Tom cuts her off with a smile. "Nadia, this is nothing! Did you really expect me to just sit on my ass and watch you and Sydney carry your stuff in and out? Come on, what kind of guy do you think I am?"

Nadia gives Tom a glowing smile. "A sweet one!"

Tom gives a flattered chuckle. "I've been called a lot of things in my life, but 'sweet' is a new one. I guess you get called things like that when you're addicted to love." Tom then turns back to continue working in the closet.

Nadia keeps her smile as she closes her drawer and starts walking over to help Tom clear space in the closet.

Tom starts pushing her away, saying "No, I got this, take a break, babe."

Nadia gives him a playful shove back. "Hey now! This is my stuff you're messing with!"

Tom stops what he's doing, looks over at her defiantly, then turns around suddenly and walks away. He tells her with full dismissal and sarcasm "You're right, it's all yours."

Nadia just smirks and shakes her head at Tom's antics. She really doesn't want him doing too much. Plus...it  _is_ her stuff.

Tom starts stuffing some of the clothes he tossed into garbage bags haphazardly, getting them ready to be hauled away for donation. He really did have too many clothes he didn't wear anymore, but he's a little bit of a packrat. 

When Nadia finishes arranging things to her liking, she walks over and helps Tom with his clothes. As she's putting clothes into garbage bags, she tells Tom "I'll go take these clothes to the Salvation Army, then I'll get us dinner..."

Tom stops what he's doing and looks at her with a dismayed look. "No, no, no. I'll make the trip. You've done enough for me lately..."

Now Nadia stops what she's doing and looks at Tom with a somewhat irritated look. "Tom, we're in this together. I like doing nice things for you, just like how you like doing nice things for me. Besides, I don't want you doing too much, not with your heart still weak."

Tom cracks a small smile. "Now that we're going to be living together, my heart has never felt better, actually. I'm really happy that you've chosen to stay with me, Nadia. I'm so happy you're here."

Nadia rubs Tom's arm a bit, smiling a very satisfied smile. "I'm happy that you've allowed me to share your home!"

Tom hangs his head a bit. "I know this place isn't nearly as nice as Sydney's..."

Nadia puts her hand over Tom's mouth. "Stop. I don't care about that. I just want you, and I don't care where we live. Besides..." Nadia then smirks and says "...this place isn't all that bad! All this place needs is a little time, love, care...and a woman's touch. Maybe while I'm here, I can spice this place up a bit!"

Fear is now etched on Tom's face as she says that. Tom is absolutely clueless about Nadia's interior home design abilities, so he's a little unsure what ideas she has. "Uh, what did you have in mind?"

Nadia starts looking around the bedroom. "Well, for one, this bedroom has no personality! If we painted it, it'd really make a difference!"

Tom then starts thinking for a bit. That wasn't so bad, and she does actually have a good idea. In fact, it'd be a fun project for them both, one that both would probably get a lot of enjoyment out of. So, he nods. "Ok. If you want to, get some color samples while you're out and we'll go over them together. Just don't pick anything goofy!"

Nadia giggles a bit. "I promise! Thank you!" Nadia then gives Tom a one-armed hug and squeezes him a bit.

Nadia and Tom then stuff the last pieces of Tom's old clothes into a large garbage bag. "Alright, that a lot of history in that bag!" Tom then looks over at the closet. "And a whole lot of future in that closet."

Nadia turns to the closet and laughs, realizing Tom was talking about her clothes. She then grabs the two garbage bags of clothes. "Ok, I'll be back in a little while. I love you!"

Tom leans over and gives her a kiss that he holds for a few seconds. When they release, Tom tells her with a warm smile "I love you too, babe. I'm glad you're here." 

Tom walks out in front of Nadia and holds the front door open for her. Nadia walks out with Tom's old clothes, grinning like a school girl who just had her first kiss with the handsome boy in class.

Tom then closes the door and leans back up against it and smiles wide as he listens to Nadia's footsteps run down the wooden steps. To no one in particular, he utters "Man, I'm happy to be alive."

Then, all of the sudden, he frowns. He realizes there's something that he's been meaning to do when he gets a free moment away from Nadia. But, he's afraid to do it.

He spurs himself to walk to the kitchen. He walks up to the refrigerator and grabs a note that was hung up there by a magnet. The note, in Nadia's handwriting, says "Karen – 573-555-9765." Tom quickly puts the note back on the refrigerator and walks back to his bedroom to do some more re-arranging of clothes.

Not yet.

* * *

About 30 minutes later, Tom is finally satisfied with the arrangement of his and Nadia's clothes and walks back out to the living room.

He looks back at the kitchen and sighs. He knows he has to do this. He promised himself in the hospital that he'd talk to his estranged sister before he went back to work in two days. After all, his mom told him he needed to do this, and he wouldn't want to let her down...even if she is in a different plane of existence.

Tom mumbles "Just like cough medicine...let's get this over with." He then marches into the kitchen, grabs the phone number, grabs a phone, punches in the number, and puts the phone to his ear...all in a fast flurry of just a couple seconds.

On the other end, a curly-haired brunette woman in her mid 40s, with a very similar slender 5-foot-7 frame that her mother Mary Falk has, picks up. "Hello?"

Tom pauses for a second, then closes his eyes and sighs, afraid to say anything.

The woman hears the sigh and curiously asks again "Hello? Who is this?" She's starting to think this is a crank call of some sort.

Finally, Tom breaks his silence, but he's still tense. "Karen, it's your brother."

Karen's eyebrows raise a bit, then she smiles, happily surprised. "Tom! Hey, how are you?"

Seeing as she's taking a pleasant tone, Tom relaxes a bit. "I'm ok. I just got out of the hospital, and I'm recuperating a bit, but I'm fine."

Karen, now a bit concerned, asks "Oh no, I hope it wasn't anything serious..."

Tom smirks. "I took a bullet the other day. They got it out and...I survived."

Karen folds her arms and cracks a sarcastic smirk, letting the cordless phone rest between her head and shoulders. "Let me guess, you were on an undercover LAPD drug bust, right?"

Tom picks up on her sarcasm. "What else could it be?"

Karen laughs loudly. "Oh come on, little brother! I know you're CIA!"

Tom eyes shoot up in surprise. "I'M WHAT?"

"Tom, I got a call from the CIA when they presumed you were dead a couple years ago. You had me listed as your next of kin. And then, you were found alive and they called me again! They made me swear to keep your job quiet, which wasn't a problem since we weren't on speaking terms. Anyway, I told Nadia that and she confirmed that you two work together. It's ok, you're secret's safe out here in the middle of nowhere!"

Tom now looks a little irritated as he walks over to the living room and sits on the couch. He's not very comfortable with Nadia being so open about what they do. "What else did Nadia tell you about me?"

Karen giggles and says "That's between us girls! Nothing too bad, though!"

Tom rolls his eyes, but picks up in Karen's tone that Nadia didn't tell her anything serious. He thought Nadia was smarter than to reveal everything to Karen, and it turns out he's right. 

After some silence, Karen asks "Did you get the wine I sent?"

"Yeah, it was great. You remembered I like Chardonels."

"Yeah, that was Mom's favorite wine as well. It always amazed me how much you reminded me of her."

Tom sits back a bit and digests that comment. There is no way he can tell Karen that he actually got to meet her mother a few days ago in the afterlife...that might send Karen into hysterics. Dismissively, Tom just says "That's what I've been told. Anyway, Nadia told me you two had a nice conversation."

"We did!" Karen exclaims, her voice getting giddy. "She seems really nice!"

"Karen, she's a one of a kind. She's already done so much good for me, I almost feel challenged to keep up with her. I'm crazy about her..."

"And I could tell she's crazy about you, too. That woman has a lot of love for you, I could tell. I'm happy she told you I talked to her, even though I was afraid how you'd react."

Tom shrugs. "The wine helped..."

Karen laughs. "I thought it would! But, I was afraid to talk to you after the last time we talked...when Dad died."

Tom hangs his head. "I was an asshole on the phone, and you didn't deserve that. It's just...I can't think rationally when it comes to Dad."

"I know, Tom. And I shouldn't have asked you to help with his burial. I never bothered to think of how I'd react if I were in your shoes. I was just in such a bad way..."

"What DID you end up doing with my dad?"

Karen pauses for a bit, then says "Well, I talked to a veterans group and they reminded me that, as a Vietnam veteran, he had burial assistance. That helped a lot, and then a group of local Vietnam veterans that knew your dad well chipped in for the rest. So it was taken care of. But, it was at his funeral when I realized the polarizing effect he had on people. It was just me, your nephew, and the woman he was seeing before he died...only three people showed up at his funeral. His alcoholism ended up alienating everyone, and I always took too much pity on him to realize the damage he did to you and Eddie."

Tom shakes his head. "Eddie was able to deal with my dad better than I was. I was always the outspoken one, but my brother was hurt by what he did, too. Speaking of my brother, I really miss him. There are times where I can use his voice of reason."

Karen laughs a little. "Yeah, if there's one thing you inherited from Dad, it was his temper! But you did get Mom's pushiness. She was legendary for that! She drove Dad nuts!"

Tom laughs a little himself, then sighs. "Anyway, I'm sorry that I jumped you on the phone. That wasn't right of me. You just wanted help from your own flesh and blood, you did nothing wrong."

Karen shakes her head. "Tom, there's no need to apologize. I said some nasty things myself, including saying you were pretty much dead to me. Let's just forget all that ever happened, ok?"

Tom smiles, relieved that Karen's being rational. She really can have her moments, but she's always been the type that was led by her heart, not her head. "You got a deal, big sis. So, how are things in our hometown?"

Karen growls bit, then says "Still as boring as ever!"

"Does my cheating bitch of an ex-wife ever show her face in Bunker?"

Karen laughs and says "No! And if she did, I'd kick her ass for what she did to you...cheating on you, then telling you you're no good when you were found alive. I called her after Nadia told me what all she did to you and told her to stay the hell out of Bunker...ok, I might have said a little more than that...but you get the idea."

Tom raises his eyebrows. Sounds like Karen said what Tom wanted to after he learned the truth from Mary. "Oh really? And how'd she take that?"

"She took it all. Then she slammed down the phone. As far as I know, she's still in Baltimore with that stock broker guy."

Tom laughs a bit, expecting that from Kate. "Good, she can stay there. Anyway, how's my nephew doing?"

"He's good. He's doing really well in school, but he's definitely got the Falk temper! He's actually sitting in his room grounded because he got suspended from school."

Tom gets a look of shock. "Danny? He was a sweet kid growing up..."

Karen giggles a bit. "So were you until you got to his age. Then, you started realizing that you can throw your weight around. The other day, Danny popped this boy in the face because he got called a dumb blonde."

Tom laughs out loud. "Yup, he's one of us! How are YOU doing, by the way?"

Karen just shrugs a bit. "Oh, I'm fine. I'm getting by, don't worry about me."

Tom nods, remembering Karen didn't like to talk about herself much. Then he gets a serious look on his face. "Karen, I wanted to talk to you about something else while I had you on the line. Do you still have Mom's engagement ring that Dad gave her?"

Karen face freezes all of the sudden out of fear. With some trepidation in her voice, she says "Yes...yes, I do."

"I was wanting to see if you could mail it to me. I'm thinking about asking Nadia to marry me."

Karen, still stammering a bit, says "That's...that's great..."

Tom notices Karen's voice isn't exactly enthused. "Hey, I thought you liked Nadia!"

"I DO! It's just...I had a dream the other night...I was lying there in bed and all of the sudden, I hear Mom's voice coming out of nowhere...she told me that you'd be calling to ask for her engagement ring, and that I should send it to you...and now here you are, doing just that."

Tom laughs because he realizes that probably really happened: His mom did actually talk to Karen. Instead of the truth, he says "Come on, Karen! You're hearing voices now?"

Karen yells back "It was a dream, Tom! At least, I'm pretty sure it was..."

Tom laughs again and says "Well, let's just hope it's all it was, ok? Do you have my address?"

"Yeah, it's how I sent you the wine! Nadia gave it to me over the phone. I'll mail you the ring tomorrow on one condition: when you two do get married, can I get an invite to the wedding?"

Tom looks astonished that she'd even ask that. "Of course! You're my sister...my sister that apparently doesn't hate me after all these years!"

A remorseful Karen says "Tom, I never hated you. I could never hate my family. I'm sorry I gave you that impression."

Tom quickly replies "Likewise."

Before he can say any more, Nadia then walks through the front door with a pizza and says "Hey!" Tom turns and points to the phone. Nadia's smile erases as she says "Oh, sorry!"

Karen, on the phone, says "I take it Nadia just walked in?"

Tom turns and says on the phone "Yeah, she had a couple errands to run. She's moving in permanently with me starting today."

Karen laughs and says "Oh she is? That's one of the things we talked about last week!"

Tom gives Nadia an incredulous look as she sets the pizza on the kitchen counter. Nadia notices and says "What?"

Tom, while glaring at Nadia, then asks Karen "And what did you tell her when she asked this?"

"I first asked her if she could cook, because we both know you can't cook worth a damn!"

Tom then looks repulsed, turns away from Nadia, and yells "Hey! I do ok with a skillet!"

Nadia starts laughing, realizing that's what he's talking about on the phone.

Karen laughs and says "Yeah right! Anyway, I'm just kidding, I didn't really say that. She told me she was thinking about moving in with you and I told her that it would be a good idea. I think asking her to marry you would be a good idea as well."

Tom smiles, happy over how this conversation went. "I appreciate the vote of confidence. Anyway, Nadia has dinner ready. I'll talk to you later, Karen. Good to hear your voice again."

"Same here! Love ya, little brother!"

"I love you too, big sis." Tom hangs up the phone and looks at Nadia with a smile, both happy that she's back as well as how the chat with Karen went...the chat that Nadia orchestrated.

Nadia smiles back. "So, you finally talked to your sister. How did it go?"

Tom gives Nadia an affirmative nod. "Good. Thanks for helping facilitate things. Turns out we both were wrong about each other. In the end, we both were afraid we hated each other when that really wasn't the case."

Nadia lets out a relieved sigh. "I'm glad I could get you two talking again. Even though I didn't have a family growing up, I've come to realize since coming to APO how important family is."

Tom looks down and nods a bit bashfully. "You're absolutely right. Family is very important." Tom then looks back up at her curiously. "By the way, I noticed you came back kind of quick, did you get any color samples?"

Nadia shakes her head. "No, we'll do that later. I just want to have a nice, quiet first night here with the man I love."

Tom stands up and smiles wide. "That sounds like a great idea to me, babe." He then walks over and gives her a kiss on the cheek before grabbing a plate for dinner.

* * *

_Tom returns to work Monday, as he promised. His duties are limited to mostly menial, boring desk work. But, he does get one piece of business taken care of upon his return._

* * *

 

**_APO office_  
**

Tom and Nadia walk in together and walk down that long hallway that leads into the APO office. Tom's back in a business suit and has a cheery expression on his face. He's glad to be back at work. He was starting to get stir crazy being away from work.

Sure, he and Nadia enjoyed each other's company these last few days and Nadia enjoyed getting settled in to Tom's place on a permanent basis, only needing one night to really feel at home. She's enjoying this chapter of her life, and this chapter of her relationship with Tom.

The two walk into the office area and, as they make the turn down the row of desks to get to their own, a few of their co-workers start clapping. This appears to surprise Tom and Nadia quite a bit.

Soon enough, Sydney would join in at the end of the row, along with Marshall, who seems to be clapping rather eagerly.

Nadia bashfully sets her purse on her desk. She's not an attention seeker at work, and while she realizes most of the clapping is for Tom's return to work...and life, Nadia notices a few of the workers looking at her.

Tom, meanwhile, has walked up to Marshall. He's glad to see Marshall, given all that he did for him after he was shot. And now, Tom sees a chance to pull a page out of his time with Storm Crew.

Marshall stops clapping and couldn't look happier. "It's good seeing you...doing anything!"

Tom gives Marshall a big smile and suddenly puts an arm around Marshall. He looks at everyone that has gathered in the office area. "Hey everyone! I want everyone to stop clapping, because I have something to say!"

Everyone stops, including Sydney, who looks curious over what Tom's about to do. It's got Nadia curious as well, as she walks over to the side of her desk immediately in front of Tom and Marshall.

Tom looks down at Marshall, then back at everyone else. "The job of an op-tech is far different than any of ours. While we put our lives on the line or compile intel or investigate leads, it's guys like Marshall that make sure that we have all the tools we need to do our job. Without guys like Marshall, we're all screwed!"

The office laughs at that, then a smattering of clapping starts. Marshall, meanwhile, looks kind of bashful at the attention.

"But that's not why I want everyone to look at Marshall right now."

Suddenly, Marshall starts sweating nervously. He also has not been one for attention, especially with big groups.

Tom removes his arm from Marshall. He turns and looks at him, almost revering him. "Marshall is a fan of comic book heroes. I know, he's told me as such."

Marshall shrugs. "Yeah, I suppose I am. Though I do work with some superheroes here!"

Tom shakes his head. "No. It's I that works with the superhero."

Marshall suddenly looks confused.

Tom looks out at the office. "A superhero is a man that goes beyond whatever limits he has to exceed the call of duty for the people that need him. A man that goes the extra mile for the people he cares about." Tom looks back at Marshall with a sincere look. "When blood was gushing out of my neck, it was Marshall that helped get me to the van. It was Marshall that picked up my dead, uncooperative, dying weight and got me on the van. And it was Marshall that broke just about every speeding law in this city to get me to the hospital...so I could have a chance to live."

Marshall looks down at the ground timidly at the showering of praise. 

"Marshall, look at me." Tom eyes Marshall down with a resolute look on his face.

Marshall slowly lifts his head up to look at Tom, no less timid than before.

Tom gives Marshall a warm, sincere smile. "Marshall, you're my superhero." And before Marshall can react, Tom leans over and gives Marshall a big hug.

The office starts giving Marshall a big round of applause...an applause worthy of a hero. Vaughn is included in that crowd, clapping and giving Tom and Marshall an amused smile. Sydney also is smiling at the hugging pair, thinking that was a really nice gesture by Tom to give Marshall some appreciation.

Nadia, meanwhile, looks a little misty as she claps hard for Marshall. She's misty partly because of the memories of Tom bleeding out from the gunshot wound, but also partly because that was such a sweet gesture by Tom. She's seeing shades of the leader that Tom was and that she had heard about in Storm Crew: lifting up those around him. Heck, he's lifted her up quite a bit since he arrived. If Tom's your friend, he's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Bar none.

Tom lets go of the hug with Marshall and sees that Marshall has shed a few tears that he's trying to hide. Tom looks back out to the office, which stops clapping when he looks out. "I couldn't come back to work without letting you know how much of a hero that Marshall really is. He deserves your respect and gratitude."

Sydney walks over and pats Marshall on the back. "You've been a loyal friend and ally over the years, Marshall." Sydney then looks out at everyone. She's not one for speeches like Tom is, but can't help but feel a little inspired herself. "Tom's right. Marshall would do anything for you guys, like he did for Tom." Sydney looks back at Marshall, who is at a loss for all the attention he's getting. "Thank you, Marshall."

Tom nods and gives Marshall a couple pats on the back. "Yeah, thank you, Marshall."

A grateful Nadia walks up to Marshall and gives him a hug. "Thank you for helping Tom, Marshall."

Once Nadia lets go, Marshall just holds out his arms and shrugs. "You guys...Tom needed help! And I...helped!" Marshall looks up at Tom with a humbled look. "I'm just glad you're alright!" He then gives Tom one his uneasy smiles.

Tom smiles at Marshall. "If you ever need anything from me, don't be afraid to ask. I owe you a lifedebt..."

Nadia throws up her arms and looks aghast. The last time Tom had a lifedebt to someone, it was her! And Tom died for her...and came back to life because of her! "Tom! No more lifedebts!"

Marshall shrugs. "Yeah, I mean...as much as I'd appreciate the gesture, I'm not a Han Solo. And you certainly aren't a Chewbacca!"

Tom turns away and looks confused. Did he really get the lifedebt idea from Star Wars? He then looks back over at Nadia, then back at Marshall. "Damn, I guess I did get that idea from Star Wars."

Sloane, who has been noticeably absent throughout all of this, walks through the office and observes everyone standing around. "What's going on here?"

Tom puts his arm back around Marshall as he turns to Sloane. "Just making sure Marshall gets the proper respect for helping me when I was shot. That's all."

"It's respect that is well-earned. But let's get back to work, everyone. We have a lot to do today." Sloane then nods at Tom. "I'm glad to see you back in good health, Tom. This whole office is."

Tom nods back at Sloane, then goes over to his desk to get to work with Nadia. Sydney and Vaughn return to their desks, and Sloane passes by Marshall to get to his office.

Meanwhile, Marshall just stands there, a bit awestruck still over Tom's gesture. Finally he takes a deep breath, puffs out his chest a bit like a certain superhero, and for the next few days, had an extra gear and an extra skip in his step at work.

And that's just what Tom hoped would happen. Marshall earned it.

* * *

 

_Not long after this, we learn that Sloane was indeed set up after a chat with Roberts, the man that strung Vaughn along in his search for his father. Sloane's clone abducts a nuclear physicist to help build a giant Rambaldi energy ball and steals the Nightingale transformer coil after killing Roberts for it. During that process, Sydney sees Sloane's clone in a glass elevator, confirming that Sloane indeed has a clone. The real Sloane is exonerated for his role in Vaughn's wild goose chase for the truth about his father as well as the debacle that got Tom shot in the neck. Meanwhile, the real Sloane is allowed to review Rambaldi manuscripts in order to see what his clone's next move is. He tells the team that he's going to Sicily to pose as the clone in a meeting with a man who has a supply of Zanthium 242, a chemical that will make a Rambaldi experiment successful. This troubles Nadia, and we pick up from there._

* * *

_**APO office** _

Nadia takes her seat at her desk, which of course is next to Tom's. She looks VERY troubled over something.

Tom is working on something, then looks over at Nadia and notices that troubled look. It concerns him immediately, as is any other time Nadia is concerned. "Whats's wrong?"

Nadia looks over at him with that troubled look. She trusts Tom and feels he's the perfect person to vent to right now. "Follow me."

Tom nods as they both stand up and walk over to a secluded place in APO. Once they get to a little-traveled corner of the building, Tom folds his arms and faces Nadia. "Nadia, what is it? Are you ok?"

Nadia shakes her head. "I'm losing my father."

Tom looks away and thinks about that comment. The thought of Sloane going down the rabbit hole again discourages him. "You think he's going to be consumed by Rambaldi again."

"Yeah. I just talked to him...he begged me to believe that he's changed, but a year ago in Siena...I saw it in his eyes, he was obsessed! And when we talked, I saw a hint of that same obsession. Tom, I don't want to lose him. I know your feelings on him and all..."

Tom holds up his hand and cuts her off. "No, I understand. Look, I didn't want to bring this up during the meeting, but I think that letting him go on this meeting alone is pure insanity."

Nadia shakes her head quickly. "He doesn't want backup. Believe me, I tried to convince him to take me."

"I wasn't referring to backup. I was referring to having him anonymously tracked and having someone there to record his conversation back to us."

Nadia looks down and shakes her head again. "Tom, I just said he didn't want anyone from APO to go with him..."

"I'm not talking about having someone from APO go with him. I had something else in mind."

Nadia looks back up and realizes what he's referring to. "One of your friends from Storm Crew?"

Tom nods. "Mike is the best tracker I know, and he's very adept at covert operations. If I can convince Jack, I was thinking that Mike could go to Sicily and record him anonymously, under the radar."

Nadia looks back down. "We'd be going behind my father's back..."

"You expressed doubts that you can trust your father. And you know that I wouldn't trust him to even wash my car. We need to this."

Just as he says that, Sydney comes from around the corner. "Hey, I've been looking for you two, what's going on?"

Tom and Nadia look at each other. Nadia then hangs her head.

Sydney now looks adamant at finding out what's going on. "Guys, what is it?"

It's Tom that's first to respond, being the one that isn't riddled in guilt right now. "Me and Nadia share some doubts about the state of Sloane's psyche when it comes to Rambaldi, and now, his head is swimming in Rambaldiworld once again."

Sydney nods her head. "Your doubts are shared by me as well. I don't like this, either."

Nadia looks at her quickly. "Sydney, I can't lose my father. I want to believe he loves me and has put Rambaldi behind him..."

Tom cuts her off. "But you can't."

Nadia looks at Tom and shakes her head in dismay before hanging her head again. "I don't know what to think..."

Tom looks back over at Sydney. "I suggested to Nadia that I send my friend Mike to covertly record his conversation in Sicily. Sloane would never know he was there, and we'd know for ourselves what he's saying. We both know that he won't give us the full story of his meet, just the parts he thinks is important to us. I want to know everything."

Sydney thinks for a bit, then looks over at Nadia and takes her side. "Sloane insisted that he not have anyone there with him. I don't even want to think what would happen if he were..."

Tom cuts her off with a serious tone in his voice. "A big reason we're both here, Sydney, is to make sure Sloane doesn't go off the deep end. If we let Sloane go run free in Italy on a Rambaldi-related quest, then we're not doing our jobs, are we?"

Sydney looks down and digests that question for a bit. "You're right. We need to run this by my dad."

Tom nods his head. "I agree. The three of us should plead our case to him. Nadia, are you in?"

Nadia, still looking down, meekly says "Yeah. Let's do it."

* * *

 

The three start to march towards Jack's office, storming into it shortly after.

Before Jack can speak, Tom beats him to the punch eagerly. "We need to have surveillance on Sloane's meet in Sicily."

Jack quickly responds "Out of the question. He was adamant on going alone."

Tom doesn't like what he just heard and shakes his head. "Jack, you've known Sloane longer than any of us. Do you think he's going to divulge everything when he gets back? Really?"

Jack leans forward, a little perturbed. "We don't have a choice here."

Sydney then speaks up. "Yes we do. We can send someone anonymously to record the meet, that way we know everything there is to know."

Jack leans back in his seat and then shakes his head. "I can't risk any of you getting caught..."

Tom cuts him off. "We'll send Mike Walcott, my friend from Storm Crew. He's an expert on staying covert."

Jack blankly tells Tom "So, this was all your idea."

Before Tom can respond, Nadia jumps in with an intent look on her face "No, it was mine." Tom and Sydney give her curious looks, but Nadia, not paying them any attention, continues with Jack. "I begged my dad to take me with him, but he refused. I'm worried that he's going to be obsessed with Rambaldi again...I saw it in his eyes! We need to do something to make sure we not only get the information we need, but to make sure he doesn't go down the wrong path again."

"Sloane will be reporting back to us, and we can't let him know that we already know what is going on."

An intent Tom says "He won't. Having Mike at the meet will allow us to cross-check whatever he tells us later. He'll never have to know."

Jack then shakes his head. "This is too risky. Sloane..."

Sydney insistently cuts him off. "Dad, we need to keep our eye on Sloane! That's why we're here! If we let him go on this meet without any surveillance whatsoever, then what are we doing here?"

Jack thinks about that question for a bit, then looks at Tom with a softening look. "You're confident that Mike can pull this off without getting caught?"

Tom nods his head slowly. "Mike can do this in his sleep. He won't get caught, I promise."

Jack finally appears to be sold. "Fine. Make contact with Mike and give him the particulars. He'll need to get to Sicily as soon as possible, so make sure he's available. He'll also need to get with Marshall so he knows how to connect back with us."

Tom nods affirmatively. "It'll be done. Thanks, Jack."

Jack just goes back to his work without saying anything as Tom, Sydney, and Nadia walk out.

* * *

Just outside of Jack's office, Tom stops Nadia and asks "Why did you say this was your idea? Sending Mike was my..."

Nadia cuts Tom off. "Because I'm not sure Jack would have agreed to send him had you admitted that this was your idea. He knows you're biased against my father."

"Jack saw the relief on my face when Sloane was deemed innocent for the whole Hans Janssen incident! He knows I'm willing to work for the good of APO, not just me."

Nadia sighs and looks down, now a little ashamed for jumping the gun.

Sydney tells Nadia "We all know that we need to keep an eye on Sloane. This isn't about one agent's grudge."

Nadia quickly looks up and says "I know, Sydney. You two may not believe this, but there's no one here at APO that wants to keep my father in check more than me."

Tom and Sydney digest that comment for a bit. They both know better than to question Nadia's motives when it comes to Sloane. That's a bad road to go down.

Finally, Tom looks at Sydney. "I better call Mike. Time is of the essence here, Sloane will be leaving here any minute."

The three then return to work.

* * *

_Mike records Sloane's meet from under the bleachers at the racetrack they're at. He's not detected. The entire APO team is in the conference room, listening in as Sloane confirms that an 'Arvin Sloane' ordered the Zanthium 242 and gets a location where it's being sent: Santiago, Chile. His contact also asks Sloane sarcastically about what did he put in the food that he sent to impoverished countries while running Omnifam. Sloane deflects the question away. He later calls in and reports on the Zanthium portion of the conversation as well as where the shipment was headed and says nothing about his contact's sarcastic question. We pick back up in the conference room after Sloane has finished his debrief via phone._

* * *

_**APO Conference room** _

Jack reaches over and hangs up the phone, ending the phone call with Sloane.

Tom sits there and audibly chuckles as he's shaking his head.

Nadia notices. "Tom, he was honest about his conversation."

Tom looks at her incredulously. "He said nothing about this...accusation that his contact made about what he put in the food while at Omnifam."

Jack quickly says "That's irrelevant, we have what we need..."

Tom cuts him off angrily. "Irrelevant? If Sloane has poisoned the millions of people he oh-so-generously provided food for, we could have a major problem here!"

"We've received no reports of food poisoning from any of the countries he provided food to."

Before Tom can respond, Dixon jumps into the conversation. "Tom's right. We can't just ignore this. We have to find out more. The man's accusation didn't seem baseless."

Nadia defensively asks "But why would he want to poison millions of innocent people?"

Sydney flatly replies "Why did Sloane do a lot of things in his life? He has his reasons."

Before Nadia can fire back with a fiery defense, Tom realizes something. "Nadia, remember last week, when you were almost injected with tap water?"

Nadia looks at him and nods. "Yeah, what does that have to do with this?"

Tom looks back out at the rest of the table. "Sloane told Jack, Nadia, and Sydney that Hans' attempt at whatever he was doing wouldn't have worked because the sphere he used had to be bigger. That tap water Hans had might have been contaminated by whatever Sloane allegedly put into food and water at Omnifam. And if that crap is in millions of people, just waiting to be triggered by a giant Rambaldi sphere...I don't even want to think what could happen!"

The rest of the table seems to think that makes sense. Nadia just shakes her head, stubbornly refusing to believe these accusations against her father.

Jack finally breaks the silence. "At this point, that's just conjecture. We'll address that at another time. Meanwhile, Sloane appears to be on the same page with us and wants to help end this experiment and this clone. We need to get to Santiago and infiltrate the clone's facility. Sloane will be joining the tactical team. Tom...Dixon...you two are still recuperating from your recent wounds, so you'll be hanging back here."

Dixon seems appalled at this. "You're actually letting Sloane join the tactical team?"

Jack quickly fires back "Considering who we're up against...and considering our need for Rambaldi information..."

Dixon cuts him off incensed. "Considering the man himself...it's one thing to allow Sloane into the Department of Special Research to read the Rambaldi documents, but if his imposter has assembled the Rambaldi device, and Sloane is put in front of it, what assurances do we have..."

Jack cuts him off a little perturbed. "I'm calling the shots here, Marcus."

Dixon, more than a little offended, asks "And you have a problem with me questioning Sloane's motives?"

"At this point, Sloane's motives are irrelevant. If Sloane can bring the imposter to us, I say let's let him do what he needs to do."

Tom shakes his head. "Jack, I'm with Dixon here. This is awfully short-sighted..."

Jack looks over at Tom and angrily fires "That's not your call to make! We leave at 1200 hours for Santiago. Let's end this." Jack then stands up and walks away in a huff.

The rest of the team, including an unsure Nadia, eventually follows suit.

But, before he can leave, Dixon is grabbed on the arm by Tom. Dixon turns to him and asks "What is it?"

Tom watches as the rest of the team walks out of the conference room. Then, Tom looks at Dixon with a curious look. "Do you sometimes find yourself wondering if you're the only person with common sense around here?"

Dixon remorsefully says "In moments like this...I do."

Tom nods his head affirmatively. "Good to know that someone else hasn't forgotten what kind of man Sloane is capable of. I had to literally beg Jack to get his conversation in Sicily recorded."

I can imagine. But, I think you might have caught something there with the tainted food. While they're gone, we should look at Omnifam's records...see if we can spot any irregularities."

Tom smirks. "Great idea. No reason a couple of recent gunshot victims can't still be useful around here!"

Dixon smirks back as they walk out of the conference room.

* * *

_The mission goes forward just as it did in the actual episode. Sinclair, the nuclear physicist, is rescued. After that is done, Nadia finds a bloody-faced Sloane, who just got done bludgeoning one of Sloane clone's goons to death with a large, metal object. Meanwhile, Dixon and Tom's research finds little of note, much to the chagrin of both of them._

* * *

_**Tom's apartment** _

We find Tom sitting on his couch in the living room. Outside a window, we see it's nighttime. He's leaning over his coffee table, looking at various color samples, presumably for his bedroom. Nadia called him not long ago, saying that she was at the airport and coming home. She sounded like death warmed over, which concerned Tom.

As he takes a drink out of a longneck beer bottle, Nadia walks in the front door, looking exactly like she sounded on the phone.

Tom swallows his drink and stands up quickly, ready to welcome her home. "Hey, how did things go in Santiago?"

Nadia closes the front door softly and timidly, before leaning her forehead against it and and looking down at the ground. She says nothing as she has a look of real concern on her face.

Tom walks up to her and gently puts his hands on her shoulders. "Hey, what is it? Did something happen?"

Nadia turns around looks up at Tom with a sad look on her face. "I've lost my father. He's...gone."

Tom raises his eyebrows. "What do you mean...gone?"

"No, not like that. He's back to being obsessed. When I got to the lab in Santiago, he just stood there, under this giant Rambaldi sphere...his face was splattered with blood, standing over this man he beat to death with a blunt metal object. He told me it was all over, but, I know it's anything but over. I could see it in his eyes...I could hear it in his voice..." With her voice quivering in the end, Nadia starts tearing up and falls into Tom's arms in search of comfort. "Tom, I know you don't trust him, and I should have listened."

Tom, clutching to Nadia closely, solemnly asks her "Nadia, remember what we were talking about a few days ago, about family mattering so much to us?"

Nadia, her face buried in Tom's chest, lets out a muffled "Yeah?"

"We all are clouded by our love and feelings for our own family. We put so much hope and faith into them, and it hurts so much when they disappoint us. I was clouded for almost two years, thinking my sister hated me. But, turns out that was far from the truth, but I could never see it until now. It's just so hard to think rationally when it comes to family, especially when things go bad, because of the love and strong feelings we have for them." Tom then releases the hug and lifts Nadia's head up to look at him.

She stays quiet, eagerly awaiting to hear what Tom has to say next.

"I know you want nothing but the best from your father, and you're willing to do anything to earn his love and respect. And I realize it's not my place to tell you what to do or what to think when it comes to him, because he's your flesh and blood, and you have feelings for him that I have no place to try to influence. All I can do is be here for you and just hope what he said to you in Santiago was true, because I don't want to see you get hurt."

Nadia wipes some tears away. "Thank you for understanding what I'm going through. I don't know what to think anymore..."

Tom then starts rubbing Nadia's shoulders to try to set her mind at ease a bit. "Remember, I came to APO to be there for you and to help you when it just gets to be too much. And in return, you've been there for me to help me through all my moments of woe and shame. We'll get through this, just as we've gotten through everything that has stood in our way. Bad childhoods...Project Alloy...Rambaldi Fluid...the Minsk mission...my death and resurrection...and yet, despite all that bullshit, here we are. Right here, right now."

Nadia, still teary-eyed, cracks a small smile at that. "I remember you said that to me in your first day in APO!"

Tom smiles back. "I meant it then, and I mean it now. Being with you has taught me that the greatest human emotion in this world isn't greed, the desire for power, fear or anger...but love. Moments like this, where we can look at each other and smile, despite whatever else might be trying to influence us, has taught me that fact. And as long as we're together...as long as, no matter what happens around us, we can still look at each other with love in our hearts and smiles on our faces, then WE have the advantage over anything else that's going on in this world. We can take on anything! You told me this past weekend that we're in this together. 'This' is more than just sharing a home or a bed. 'This' is our problems, our hopes, our desires, our feelings...everything that makes up who we are as human beings...and as long as we're sharing all of 'this', then I'll be there for you, just as you've been there for me. You don't have to ever question where my loyalty lies. You're all that matters to me."

Nadia then gives Tom another hug. Tom is really fantastic at speeches like this, like he demonstrated with Marshall a few days ago. He's so uplifting, and she loves that about him. "Thank you...thank you for caring about me so much and being there to put my mind at ease. You don't know what all you just said means to me. And you're so right about our love...being with you makes everything so much easier to handle. Even though I don't understand my father...it's so comforting to know that you're my sure thing. I've spent all my life fending for myself, and now, I have you in my corner, always there for me. You don't know what that means to me."

Tom caresses Nadia's back and gives the top of her head a kiss. "Actually I fully understand where you're coming from. I was tied into so many knots before I came into APO, and being with you helps untie those knots and gives me the peace that I've sought all my life." Tom then lightly touches Nadia's face. "I love you, beautiful."

Nadia grins wide, wipes away some of her tears, and says "I love you, handsome!" In typical Nadia fashion, she then grabs the back of Tom's head and pulls it down to her face so she can give him a deep kiss. A short make-out session that lasts about 20 seconds or so ensues.

When they're done, Tom smiles a satisfied smile at Nadia. "Have I ever mentioned how great of a kisser you are?"

Nadia, her mood already improved from when she walked in the door, giggles and says "You just did."

Tom chuckles a bit and says "Are you hungry? I didn't know when you were getting back, otherwise I would have made dinner."

Nadia looks over at the coffee table and spots Tom's beer. "I'm not hungry, but I'll have whatever you're having."

Tom turns and happily says "Coming right up!"

Nadia cracks a small smile as she walks into the living room and takes her seat. Her spirits really have been lifted by Tom tonight. Even though she still wants her father to love her, Tom is filling that hole that is in her heart quite nicely, but not quite fully.

As he opens up the fridge, Tom looks over at Nadia. "You know, I was kind of hoping you could help me out with a little problem tonight."

Nadia looks at him curiously. "What do you need?"

Tom grabs Nadia a beer from the fridge. "I stopped by the hardware store on the way home from work and I'm having a tough time figuring out what color we should use for the bedroom. I've got the samples there on the coffee table, I was hoping you could offer your advice on them."

As Tom opens up Nadia's beer bottle, she looks down and sees the samples. She looks surprised by them. In fact, she's a bit disappointed. "I thought you were going to let me pick the color samples!"

Tom walks to the living room and hands her a beer and takes his seat next to her. "Well, I got a little antsy. But, I just wanted to get your opinion on these colors I was thinking about. If you don't like them, I'll let you get new samples."

Nadia takes a drink of her beer, then sets down the bottle and picks up the three samples: dark orangish-red, a light, creamy green, and a banana-like yellow. Nadia gets a look of disgust on her face as she tosses the yellow one away. "Ugh, I hate that color. Looks like something we'd put in a kid's room."

Tom chuckles. "Good, I didn't like it either, but the paint guy says that color has been trendy of late. I thought he was full of crap, too."

Nadia then holds up the other two samples and examines them closely. She then tosses the green one away and holds up the orangish-red one. "I like this one. This color will be so pretty when the sun is shining in during the day, but I also like the mood it would set in the evening...something very sensual about this color."

Tom smirks at the thought of that. He also liked that color, too. "I thought that as well. So, is it fair to say that we've picked our color then, or do you want to do more research?"

Nadia continues to stare at the color sample for a few seconds. Then, she nods and turns back to Tom with a giddy smile. "Let's do it. This is the perfect color. In fact, I like it for the whole apartment."

Tom looks a bit surprised at that. "Really? I thought you wanted to make this place multi-colored."

Nadia then scoots over closer to Tom and, suddenly feeling demure, tells Tom "Well, I did. But, for one, this place is small enough already. And sometimes, just like in life, you find the one that just feels right."

Tom smiles at that, knowing where she was talking about him just now as well.

Nadia then looks back at the color sample. "Besides, it'll come in handy when we want to just lie here on the couch and do this..." Nadia then turns and gives Tom a sensual kiss on the cheek.

When she's done, Tom yanks the sample out of Nadia's hand, licks his own hand, rubs his forehead, and then slaps the color sample on his forehead. "Well then, if this color really gets you in the mood, then why wait until we paint?"

Nadia busts out laughing at Tom's goofiness. Tom laughs as well, happy that Nadia is back to enjoying life again.

When Nadia stops laughing, she leans in close to Tom's face, and seductively says "Just kiss me, you fool!"

The two then share a passionate make-out session, the days events already fading into the past.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	17. Old Friends, New Problems

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episodes 17 and 18_

* * *

_**Sydney's Apartment** _

Sydney is sitting in the living room reading 'The DaVinci Code'. She's alone tonight, as Vaughn is busy on APO business for the night. She appears to be quite comfortable and quite engrossed in what she reading until she hears a knock on the door.

She looks up at the door and smiles, knowing who it is. She's going to be far from alone tonight.

Sydney gets up quickly and jogs up to the door and opens it, revealing Tom and Nadia standing on the other side, both wearing shirts that have orangish-red paint swatches in various spots. It's pretty obvious what they were up to before stopping by.

Sydney stands out of the way and grins, almost laughing at the two's attire. "Hey, come in!"

Nadia and Tom both happily walk into Sydney's apartment. As she walks in, Nadia takes a deep breath through her nose and smiles. "Wow, your place smells nice..."

"I have a candle going. You like it?"

As she and Tom walk towards the kitchen, Nadia says with a smile "Yeah, I love the smell of vanilla!"

Tom smirks and takes a deep breath through his nose himself. "Yeah, it smells a lot better than paint!"

"How far did you two get today?" Sydney says after laughing.

Nadia laughs a little bit herself. "Well, we got the first coat on in the whole apartment, but we need to let it air out! The paint smell is SO powerful!"

Tom nods in agreement. "Yeah, there was no way we were going to get any sleep there tonight. Thanks for letting us stay here while we air the place out. We'll just be here for the night."

Sydney rolls her eyes. "Oh stop, that extra bedroom is still technically Nadia's, so you can be here however long you need."

Tom puts an arm around Nadia and rubs her shoulder as he tells Sydney "Well, we still appreciate you letting us refugees stay here." Tom then turns to Nadia. "I have to go get my bag from the car, I'll be right back, babe."

Nadia looks up at Tom and smiles "Alright. Don't get lost!" As Tom walks off with a smirk on his face, Nadia's cell phone goes off. She answers and asks "Hello?" She's a little concerned as she doesn't recognize the number.

On the other line, we hear an older woman's pained voice "Nadia..."

Nadia looks surprised all of the sudden. The last time she talked to this woman, she was just starting out with Roberto Fox. "Sophia, is that you?"

The woman says "It's so good to hear your voice..."

Nadia is now convinced it's Sophia, but she's not sure what to think now. She sounds hurt. "Yours too...I'm so surprised you're calling, it's been..."

"...a long time, yes. I'm flying to Los Angeles, I was hoping we might catch up."

"I'd love to. Why don't I meet you at the airport?"

Sophia pauses for a bit, then says "That would be wonderful. I arrive in the morning."

Tom walks in with his luggage as Nadia tells Sophia "Ok, I'll see you then" and hangs up with a worried look on her face.

Sydney watched the conversation with a concerned look on her face. "Nadia, is that who I think it was?"

Nadia nods solemnly. "That was Sophia, my orphan mother from Argentina."

Tom and Sydney both look surprised. Tom especially as he walks down the steps with Nadia's luggage. "Really? How's she doing?"

Nadia shakes her head when she looks at Tom. "I haven't heard from her for so long, I have no idea. But, she's coming in to LAX tomorrow morning and she wants us to catch up."

Tom winces. "Damn, and I have a meeting first thing in the morning and I'll need the car. How are we going to do this?"

A very insistent Sydney steps in. "I'll go with Nadia and pick her up from the airport."

Tom smiles a smile of relief. "Thanks." Tom then turns to Nadia with a sheepish smile. "I'll try to catch up with you later in the morning. I really want to meet the woman that took care of you growing up. It'd be an honor."

Nadia smiles. She's pleased that he would say that about Sophia. "I'm sure she'll want to meet you too. She always tried to set me up on dates when I was old enough...she'll be glad to know I finally found a boy I liked!" Nadia grins at the end of that, partly to hide her concern over Sophia and partly to force a smile on Tom's concerned face.

It works, as Tom gives her a wide grin. "I guess I should thank all those boys you rejected in your younger days!"

Nadia laughs at that a little bashfully, then puts a hand on Tom's chest. "We should be getting some sleep, she's getting in early."

Sydney suddenly walks over to the fridge. "Are you two hungry? I have some leftovers in the fridge..."

Tom holds up his hand. "Thanks, but we ate on the way here." Tom then looks down at Sydney's hands, which is holding the "The DaVinci Code" book. He chuckles and shakes his head. "Don't you think reading that book is a little ironic considering what we do for a living?"

Sydney laughs, getting where Tom's coming from with Rambaldi. "It's research!"

Tom laughs in return and starts heading for Nadia's bedroom in a saunter. "Uh-huh, right. Anyway, I'm going to bed."

Nadia springs up from her seat at the breakfast bar and squeals "Wait for me!" Nadia then turns to Sydney with a smile. "Good night, Syd. Thanks for the ride to the airport tomorrow."

Sydney gives her a kind smile. "I really want to meet Sophia, too." Sydney then looks over at Tom, then back at Nadia. "Have a good night!"

Nadia follows Tom to her former bedroom while Sydney goes back to the living room to read some more.

* * *

_Sydney and Nadia go to the airport the next morning. Nadia expresses to Sydney that she's worried about seeing Sophia because of how the left each other in Argentina, when she went to work for Fox. However, all of Nadia's concerns are rendered moot when they see Sophia in a wheelchair, looking very much the worse for the wear, with bruises under her eyes. They take her to the hospital, where Sloane, Sydney, and Nadia hear Sophia's account of what happened. Sydney and Sloane eventually leave the hospital room, leaving Nadia and Sophia alone. We pick back up not long after they leave._

* * *

_**Sophia's hospital room** _

Nadia is seated on Sophia's bedside, looking concerned for her well-being. Nadia's an expert at worrying over the ones she cares about, and Sophia's no exception.

Sophia can tell Nadia's very concerned for her and tries to put her mind at ease. "You've grown up into a beautiful woman...so different from the girl I once knew. You were so angry then."

Nadia looks away, remembering who she was in her younger life. "I know it's so hard to believe...at least it is for me..." Nadia then looks back at Sophia. "...but I have a home now. I have a family, a boyfriend that loves me to no end...I finally feel like I belong somewhere."

"Your father is a good man, too. I can tell."

This appears to give Nadia some comfort after the uncertainty of the Santiago mission. "You should rest now. I'll be by tonight to check on you."

Sophia sees Nadia start to get up and feels compelled to stop her suddenly. "Nadia, wait". Sophia then gives Nadia the necklace of San Marcos, and then explains its significance to her, which Nadia listens closely on.

As Nadia looks down at the necklace shocked, Tom suddenly walks into the room rather eagerly. "I'm so sorry I'm late, I got tied up..."

Sophia eyes then bug out in surprise at the sight of Tom and she openly gasps, appearing quite surprised to see him.

Tom notices this and looks a little concerned now. He looks over at Nadia, who is now looking at him with concern while holding the necklace in her hands. Tom thinks he's just won a Bad Timing Award. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I? I can wait outside..."

Sophia then laughs and puts her hand over her chest. "Oh no, I'm sorry I gave you that impression! You just startled me is all."

Tom lets out a sigh of relief and walks over next to Nadia. Immediately, he puts his right hand on Sophia's right hand, which she takes notice of immediately. "I'm sorry to make you jump...I was just excited to see the woman that took care of Nadia growing up."

Before Sophia can respond, Nadia interjects with a smile on her face. "This is my boyfriend, Tom Falk."

Sophia smiles wide at Tom, appearing to really enjoy the fact that Nadia has him for a boyfriend. "He's so handsome, Nadia! I always saw you falling in love with someone like this..."

Tom raises an eyebrow a bit. Something about that comment came out of left field for him. "A blonde haired, blue eyed guy from about the most rural part of America you can imagine? Isn't that a bit of a stretch for an orphan from Argentina?"

Sophia laughs at that. "No! I meant someone strong...someone kind like you. Someone who would do anything for Nadia."

Tom slowly turns to Nadia and looks at her incredulously. There's something about Sophia that is making him a little...uneasy. "You've been talking about me, I see..."

Nadia giggles at Tom. "I just told her that you love me to no end! And believe me, the feeling's mutual!"

Tom smirks and turns back to Sophia and gets a look of concern on his face. "Nadia told me what happened to you on the way here. I'm sorry that had to happen to you. Look, you don't know how much I respect you for being there for Nadia growing up, so if there is anything I can do..."

Sophia smiles and cuts Tom off. "Well, I'm glad you can pick up where I left off with Nadia! That's enough for me!"

Tom laughs and shakes his head. "Hey, me and Nadia take care of each other. She's done so much good for me, I can't even quantify it with words."

As he says that, Nadia rubs Tom's shoulders a bit. "Yeah, we do. He's the best thing that has come into my life."

Sophia looks really touched to see them getting along so well and goes to say something, but Nadia then gets a call on her cell phone.

Nadia picks up the phone and, after seeing the number, tells Tom and Sophia "Excuse me, I have to take this." She quickly walks out from the room, leaving Tom and Sophia alone.

Tom takes Nadia's seat next to Sophia. "So, Nadia tells me you were beat up in Lisbon? What happened?"

Sophia waves her hand. "I don't want to talk about me. I want to talk about the man in Nadia's life."

Tom lets out a flattered laugh. "Come on, what is there to say?"

"Well, how did you two meet? Oh, and I already know she's an intelligence agent, so you don't have to play coy with me!"

Tom nods, relieved that this conversation will be easier than if she didn't know "Well, back in 2001, we collaborated on a mission in Argentina, and even though I was married at the time, we remained good friends throughout the years. Anyway..." Tom then looks down, which concerns Sophia a bit. "...we both went through some hardship over the last couple years, not the least of which my divorce from my ex. And when the opportunity came to move to Los Angeles and reunite with Nadia, I couldn't say no. I wanted to be there for her more than anything in this world." Tom looks back up at Sophia with a sincere look on her face. "She's rewarded me with the greatest love I've ever known. Sometimes, fate has a funny way of working things out."

Sophia laughs a bit at that. "That's so true, isn't it?" Sophia then grabs Tom's right hand (his Project Alloy hand) and starts rubbing and squeezing it a bit. Tom looks down at his hand a little confused, but before he can say anything, Sophia says "She seems so different now. Nadia was very angry at the world growing up, and found it so hard to open up to anyone..."

"I can relate. I was an angry kid myself."

"Why do you say that?"

"My dad was a drunk piece of garbage who abandoned me for the bottle. As for my mom, one of the most wonderful people in this world from everything I learned about her, died when I was a baby when a drunk driver hit her car head-on. Once I learned what happened, and once I accepted who my father was, I became bitter at the world, and to help vent my rage, I became a hellraiser growing up. But..." Tom looks back at Sophia with a sincere look on his face. "...all of the agony I've gone through in life goes away when I'm with Nadia. She's the foundation I stand on now. She makes me realize that I do have something worth holding on to, something worth cherishing, and something worth dying for. I...nearly died recently trying to save her, and if I could do it all again, I would. I thought I lost everything a couple years ago after a botched mission in Torino..."

Sophia looks away after he says 'Torino'.

Tom notices immediately. "What is it?"

Sophia looks back with a smile returning to her face. "I'm just happy Nadia means that much to someone."

As she says that, Nadia walks back into the room. A smile quickly forms on her face as it appears that Sophia approves of Tom quite a bit. "I see you two are getting along well."

Tom and Sophia both smile back at Nadia.

"Don't ever lose this man." Sophia tells Nadia. "He loves you so much and would do anything for you."

Nadia turns to Tom and gives him a touched smile. "I know. He already has."

Tom smiles at Nadia, but then gets distracted by Sophia's necklace around her neck. "Hey, that necklace looks nice on you."

Nadia puts a hand up to it. "Sophia just gave it to me. It's San Marcos."

"It compliments you well."

Nadia gives Tom a flattered smile while Sophia quickly tells Tom "I thought it would."

Tom looks back at Sophia with a smirk, then back at Nadia. Suddenly, he forms a mischievous look on his face. "You wouldn't believe the things Sophia had to say about you, Nadia..."

Nadia's practically bug out of her skull. She flashes Sophia an irritated look. "What did you tell him, Sophia?"

Tom starts laughing as Sophia says "Oh, your boyfriend is just being silly! I didn't say anything that would demean you!"

Nadia laughs and shakes her head a bit, relieved that some of her bad childhood stories weren't told. She then looks over at Tom with a look of disappointment. "I hate to do this, but we need to get back to work."

Tom nods and looks back at Sophia with a calm smile. "It was so nice to meet you. Let us know if you need anything...or if you need me to look into these people in Lisbon. I have contacts..."

Sophia laughs and shakes her head at Tom. "So gallant! But it's none of your concern. If I need anything from you two, I'll let you know."

Nadia tells Sophia "I'll be back tonight to check on you. Take care, Sophia."

"I'd say the same to you, but I think you two can take care of each other!"

Tom and Nadia laugh and then wave at her as they walk out of the room together.

Sophia then looks up at the ceiling and smiles triumphantly. To no one in particular, she whispers "They made it..."

* * *

_While all that is going on, Dixon and Vaughn are sent to locate the Hydrosek, and most of Episode 17 centers around that mission. Tom's role is minor and not worth mentioning. Meanwhile, Sloane does some investigating into Sophia and confronts her about a man she killed. She alleges she killed the man to protect the girls at the orphanage and, in an attempt to protect her, changed Nadia's last name to Santos while she was a baby. She also claims that the men that were after her in Lisbon wanted Nadia, not her. We pick things up at the end of the episode, after Sloane and Jack fill in Sydney and Nadia on the details of Elena Derevko's KGB history._

* * *

_**Sloane's office at APO** _

Tom stands there, next to Nadia and Sydney, listening to everything about Elena Derevko.

Jack tells the three "I received a message from an old associate about a year ago, and it led me to one Elena's safehouses in Warsaw." Sloane then hands Sydney and Nadia the large packets of files she had acquired on them over the years. They both looked shocked as they rummage through documents and photos of them from the past.

Tom also looks at some of the things in their files. He then looks back at Jack with a look of concern. "Why was I called in for this?"

Sloane then slides Tom a similarly large packet. As he does that, Jack tells him "My associate gave me Sydney and Nadia's packets because he knew about their involvement with Rambaldi. But, he didn't inform me about your packet until after your apparent Rambaldi association came up recently. He just gave me that information today."

Tom thumbs through his packet and just shakes his head in astonishment. "These are old Bunker police reports...grades from school...oh wow..." Tom then holds up a newspaper clipping. "This is where she found me."

Nadia and Sydney look over at what he's looking at and see an article along with a picture of Tom standing in front of hundreds of bricks of meth. Tom's got his arms folded and a familiar smirk on his face, filled with pride over the biggest drug bust in Missouri history.

Tom sets down the article and then starts going through the rest of Elena's files on him. Then, his face contorts in anger when he comes across a page. It's a doctor's report that profiles something that is making Tom seethe with anger right now "She was behind Project Alloy...it was all her, she set everything up! What the freaking hell?"

Jack, Sloane, Nadia, and Sydney all remain silent as Tom continues frantically paging through his packet, in search for more dirt that Elena had on him. 

He starts reading through some of Elena's random diary writings. He starts to notice something awry. "She never calls me by my name, but instead, she calls me 'the Caretaker'. Why?"

A deadpan Jack replies "Do you really need to ask?"

Tom pauses for a bit, and then it hits him. He looks over at Sydney and Nadia with a horrified look on his face. He then looks back over at Jack and Sloane. "Is this my role in Rambaldi's prophecy?" A split second later, not giving Jack and Sloane a chance to respond, Tom starts frantically goes through the binder. "Maybe the Rambaldi document that tells about me is here..."

"No, it's not. We didn't find anything in Elena's possession that alludes to your role, besides what you're reading."

Tom then slams his folder shut angrily, forcing a picture to go flying from the folder and landing next to Nadia's feet. Tom doesn't notice, instead consumed with anger over his binder. "This woman knows everything there is to know about me...she knows me better than myself...and I've never even met her! And I still don't know my damn role, just that I'm 'the Caretaker'...whatever that means!"

Nadia bends over to pick up the picture that flew from his folder, and holds it up and looks surprised. "Tom...look at this."

Tom, still upset, look at the picture with her. Immediately, his anger gets replaced by pleasant surprise. It's a picture of Tom and Nadia standing and smiling at each other in front of an ocean. Tom takes the picture and actually smiles at what he's seeing. He then looks at the back of the picture and sees "The Passenger and The Caretaker – June 2001, Buenos Aires" written on the back.

Sydney now looks at the picture and notices a few things. "Tom, you had a goatee! And Nadia, your hair was a little shorter...when was this taken?"

Tom looks up at Sydney, his face no longer tense from anger. "This was taken during the mission me and Nadia were on in 2001. We had someone tailing us for much of that mission, but I never got a good look at her. Elena must have been that tail." Tom looks at Jack and Sloane. "If it's ok, I'd like to keep this picture."

Jack nods. "That's fine. You three can keep your files and examine them further if you like. They don't leave APO, however."

Tom quickly scoops up his files and walks out of the room, still mentally unbalanced over what was just revealed.

Elsewhere, in a hidden room somewhere, we see Sophia getting off the phone with someone while surrounded by recording equipment and monitors. Sophia smiles as she picks up the phone and dials a number. After a few seconds, she tells the person on the other line "It's Elena. Get ready, it's almost time to see your old friend again. Just wait for my signal."

Sophia...er, Elena Derevko casually sets the phone down, leans back, and smiles. She happily whispers "It's all coming together..."

* * *

_We now move on to the events in Episode 18. Sophia/Elena has been released from the hospital, and by then, Tom and Nadia are back in Tom's apartment...the paint smell apparently having cleared off. Sydney offers Nadia's old room for Sophia/Elena to stay in. Sydney, Vaughn, and Dixon, meanwhile, are able to retrieve the Hydrosek, much to Elena's chagrin. This failure causes Elena to invite Tom and Nadia over for dinner at Sydney's as part of her next move._

* * *

_**Sydney's Apartment** _

Elena and Nadia are in the kitchen, happily preparing dinner. Nadia, of course, still thinks Elena is really Sophia. One thing she loved to do when she was growing up at the orphanage was cook with Sophia. It was one of few things that managed to put a smile on her face. And here she is once again, cooking with her orphan mother and not suspecting Sophia is really Elena in the slightest.

As Elena pulls out some empanadas from the oven, Nadia hears a knock on the door. She smiles wide and runs up to the front door. Nadia really can't wait to surprise the man on the other side of the door with her empanadas. It's something she hasn't tried since moving in with Tom because she lost the recipe.

She opens the door and finds Tom standing there with a bottle of wine in his right hand. She smiles wide, noting that Tom looks a little sheepish. Tom hasn't really been himself ever since discovering Elena's packet on him. 

Still, he forces a smile on his face, not wanting to be a downer during dinner with the woman that raised her. Tom gives Nadia a hug and a kiss on the cheek, which is happily returned by Nadia.

As they hug, Nadia whispers "Are you ok? I know Elena's packet is still bothering you..."

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me."

They release the hug with smiles on their faces. Tom follows Nadia down the steps and sees Elena in the kitchen.

Elena gives Tom a big smile almost immediately. "Ah, Nadia's handsome man!"

Tom forces a smile on his face and gives Elena a warm hug. "Good to see you. You look better already."

"Everyone has been so helpful since I arrived. Sydney has been a great host." Elena then releases the hug with Tom.

Nadia gives Elena a warm smile of her own. "Well, I'd have you stay at our place, but we only have one bedroom and there's no way I'm having you sleep on the couch!"

Elena laughs at that. "Well, it's just you two, right? Something small and cozy is all you need."

Tom nods his head in agreement. "I know. Neither of us want a big place. In fact, eventually, I want to take Nadia with me and live in a small place on the beach in this small town in Mexico. Beautiful weather all year, some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets you'll ever see, and just the two of us...living out our lives in peace."

Elena just smiles and goes back to taking empanadas off of the cookie sheet. It looks like she could say something, but is biting her tongue.

Nadia turns to Elena, still oblivious to her deception. She tells her with a twinkle in her eye "Isn't he so romantic?"

"He is! And with what you both have gone through, I can't think of a better escape!"

Tom looks at Nadia a little confused, then back at Elena. "Has Nadia been talking to you about my past?"

Elena returns the confused look with one of her own. "No..." Suddenly, Elena realizes she made an accidental slip when she alluded to both of their rough pasts. Improvising, Elena says "...I just remember you telling me in the hospital about your parents and your angry childhood growing up."

Nadia, not picking up on Elena's slip, tells her "Plus, I think we both missed each other a lot between the time we met and the time we reunited in APO. It was almost 4 years since we had seen each other."

Tom keeps glaring at Elena, still a little leery over her. All the while, Elena pays him no mind, instead choosing to focus on getting dinner ready. After a few tense moments, Tom finally relaxes. "Nadia's right. But, we still kept in touch over the years, so it wasn't all that bad. I did think about her a lot, though." Tom then starts looking around. "Anything I can do to help?"

Nadia smiles and wraps her arms around Tom's waist. "No, everything's just about ready. Go sit at the table and pour us our wine!"

Tom gives Nadia a smirk and happily says "Yes, ma'am!" He then grabs the bottle of wine he had set on the breakfast bar and walks to the kitchen after Nadia lets him go. But, as he walks towards the table, he knows that something about Sophia doesn't seem right. That last exchange they had just seemed odd. He starts thinking that maybe, there's more to this Sophia than she's letting on.

* * *

_The three then eat their dinner. Nadia has to get up mid-meal and answer her cell phone in her bedroom. This causes Elena some concern, since Avian was in there on her laptop. However, Nadia comes out not suspecting a thing. Nadia and Elena seem to be having fun, and Tom tries to keep a happy face, but he's noticeably glum at times. We pick back up after the dinner._

* * *

_**Somewhere in Los Angeles** _

Nadia is driving Tom's car back to their apartment. She has a generally happy look on her face. Not only did she think dinner with Sophia went well, but she also gets to pick the music in the car. It's a small victory, but one she appreciates, having no love for Tom's taste in alternative rock.

Tom has his head resting on his right hand, looking out the passenger's window. He looks like he's brooding over something and hasn't said anything since they got in the car.

Nadia looks over with concern. "Are you alright? You haven't said anything since we got in the car..."

Tom looks over and glumly says "I'm sorry. It's just...I still can't get over the fact that a woman I've never met knows so much about me and has been stalking me all these years, without me suspecting a damn thing. And now...I have a fancy Rambaldi name like you and Sydney, but I still don't know a damn thing about what it is I'm supposedly supposed to do. I hope I didn't come across too crabby during the dinner."

Nadia shakes her head as she focuses back on the road. "No, you were fine. I don't think Sophia noticed, but I could tell this was weighing on you. Remember, Elena kept information on me..."

Tom looks back at her, still upset. "You've known for some time that you had a role in this prophecy. Sydney too. But, this is all still new to me, so forgive me for trying to come to grips with it."

"You've known that this was a possibility for a few months now, but you've been able to handle it. Why are you so concerned now?"

Tom snaps back angrily "All my life, I've always thought I was in control of my own actions and my own fate! I lived my life on my terms! But, all Elena's stuff on me proves that I wasn't in control of JACK SHIT!" Tom slams his fist on the side of the passenger's door to accentuate his anger.

Nadia now looks really concerned. "Please don't yell at me...I'm not the one you're angry at."

Tom looks away and puts his head into his hand again. He lets out a deep, deep sigh, now angry that he offended Nadia. "You're right, I'm sorry. It's just...as I read more and more of what she has on me...I find more and more that my whole life has been a giant lie."

"How do you think I feel? We both have had our own struggles to get to this point, and we both have been affected by Elena and this prophecy well before now. This bothers me too, but we can let it destroy us or we can just do what we've been doing: take comfort in each other and realize that there's more to our lives than this prophecy. You've been so good about making me remember that, no matter what, we have each other! It feels so weird having to remind you, too!"

Tom sinks into his seat a little bit and looks over at Nadia with a sorry look on his face. "Nadia, I just want all of this to be over. I just want to treat this like cough medicine and just gulp it down in one, quick, painless shot and just move on...preferably to that beach with you by my side. And I just want to know what I'm 'supposed' to do in this damn prophecy because everything I've done in my life, including loving you, is leading me to something."

Nadia puts her hand on Tom's knee and cracks a reassuring smile towards him. "We already know you're supposed to love me, and you're doing a good job at that!"

Tom looks at Nadia and cracks a small smile. "You make it easy, babe." Then, he turns back to look out the passenger's window. His frown returns as he says "Something else has been bothering me, and I've been afraid to talk to you about this."

Nadia looks a little concerned as she turns back to the road. "What is it?"

"Does something about Sophia seem a little...off to you?"

Nadia quickly and downright defensively replies "No! Why would you think that?"

Tom looks back at Nadia. "I've been unsure about her since I met her in the hospital. And tonight...her comment about 'what we've both gone through'...the way she said it made it seem like she knows more than she lets on."

Nadia pulls up to their parking spot at Tom's apartment, and then turns to Tom. "You're being paranoid. Sophia has always been a good judge of character. It was freaky how she would be able to see through whatever it was I was feeling when I was growing up and got to the root of things. And tonight, she did say she was referencing something you told her in the hospital the other day."

"Thousands upon thousands of people grow up in broken families. I still had my grandparents to care for me. What's the big deal with me? Is she always so over-complimentary?"

Nadia giggles a bit. "Actually, yes! She would always try to make us feel better at the orphanage by saying things that we knew weren't true, but were meant to make us feel better about ourselves."

Tom gives Nadia a reassured smile. He decides to buy it, knowing that Nadia knows Sophia far better than he does. "I guess that makes sense. And you're right...my mind is probably just scrambled over this Elena business."

Nadia then puts her hand on Tom's shoulder and starts rubbing it to try to console him. "Everything's going to be fine. Now come on, let's just go inside and have a nice, quiet evening. Tomorrow's a new day."

Tom grabs Nadia's hand and kisses it. "Sure, babe. By the way, I really did enjoy dinner tonight. You're a hell of a cook!"

Nadia gives Tom a flattered giggle as she opens the driver's side door. "And we'll be able to enjoy my cooking for the next couple days! Can you help me with the leftovers?"

Tom smiles as he opens his passenger's door to start grabbing leftovers from the back seat. He is reassured about Sophia as he trusts Nadia's word as the gospel. But that packet...

* * *

_After this happens, Sydney goes back in time (sort of) to pose as her mother to try to convince her sick-by-nuclear-radiation father to tell her where Dr. Liddell is so he can cure Jack. Meanwhile, Marshall approaches Nadia and asks why she requested the Hydrosek be moved. Tom and Nadia go to the facility where the Hydrosek is moved, thinking that someone has hacked the system. By the time they arrive, Elena has swiped the Hydrosek and Avian (aka Coke Bottle Glasses guy) is dead._

* * *

_**Low-security facility in Los Angeles** _

Tom and Nadia squat over Avian's dead body. A pool of blood surrounds his head. He's dead, and there's nothing they can do about it.

Nadia, realizing what has been done, admits defeat. "The Hydrosek is gone."

Tom shakes his head, looking at this man with disappointment in his eyes. He's all too familiar with the man he's looking at. "And so is the man that personally oversaw my Project Alloy experiment."

Nadia looks at Tom surprised. "I thought Elena was behind Project Alloy."

Tom turns to her with a serious look on his face. "I never saw her. But, this man was there in Mexico City after I was transported from Torino. His job was to oversee my recovery. And now, he's dead and I can't even say goodbye. That's alright...I didn't give him a chance to say goodbye before I escaped. What goes around..."

Nadia says nothing, then jumps as Tom's cell phone rings.

Tom picks up the phone and doesn't recognize the number, but answers anyway. "Hello?"

On the other line, we hear someone's sinister laugh, followed by "Well, well, well, if it isn't Tom Falk...or should I say Halcón Diablo?"

Tom's jaw drops as he stands up from a squatting position like a catcher about to pick off a basestealer in baseball. He thinks he knows who this is...but, it can't be him. Can it? "Who is this?" Tom asks, not hiding the fear in his voice very well.

The man laughs loudly on the other end. "How can you say that to the man who once was your mentor?"

Tom starts shaking his head in disbelief. It's him. It's really him. "Mitch? You're alive?"

Nadia looks at Tom all confused, recognizing that name from Tom's past. She knows Mitch was at least partly responsible for getting Tom into the Project Alloy mess. Tom never talks about him, and for good reason.

Mitch confidently says on the other end "And what would give you the impression that I was dead?"

"Because Italian authorities found your body in the rubble in Torino! You were barely more than a pile of red mush!"

Tom hears a pause on the line, followed by Mitch continuing. "Project Helix is wonderful, isn't it?"

Tom hangs his head and closes his eyes, not believing what he's hearing. That was not Mitch that they found in Torino, but a clone of his! All this time, Mitch has been alive! And that...that pisses off Tom to no end. "What do you want, you filthy rat?"

Mitch calmly replies "Patience, patience. I know patience is something you lack, but you're just going to have to have some if you want what I have."

Tom screams into the phone like a maniac "WHAT DO YOU HAVE, YOU BACKSTABBING PIECE OF SHIT?!"

"Easy! In time, we'll meet again, and I'll show you. Believe me, you're going to want this! Just keep your phone handy, I'll have further instructions in the coming days. Oh, and Elena Derevko is long gone now, so you don't have to worry about pursuing her after we're done."

Tom pulls the phone away from his ear and threatens to throw it on the wall, but thinks better of it and gets back on the line. "I'll be waiting, you piece of shit. Make your time, and I'll be waiting."

Mitch chuckles a bit. "Strength and honor, old friend." Before Tom can respond, Mitch hangs up.

Tom slams his phone shut, then walks over and leans up against a wall, trying to digest what went down.

Nadia has been looking on at Tom with concern. He's still unbalanced over the folder and now, this. One of Tom's worst nightmares has come back to life and she hates seeing him like this, knowing the hurt that Mitch caused him. "Tom, I'm so sorry. I can't believe he could be alive. How did he survive?"

Tom presses his head into his arm even further on the wall. "Project freaking Helix. What we found in the rubble was his double. Apparently, the scum-sucking rat has been alive and well for nearly two years since that day."

Nadia walks up to Tom and puts her hand on his back. "What did he want?" She asks calmly.

Tom shakes his head. "I don't know. He said he'd be in touch with me later. He apparently has something I'd really want."

"We have to tell APO about this."

Tom turns to her quickly and shakes his head. "No, this is my problem. And only I can take care of it. This is my trash to clean up. This is personal." Nadia goes to say something, but Tom starts walking towards the door. "We have to get out of here, we've hung around long enough."

Nadia follows Tom out of the door, now even more concerned about his psyche. But, she has trouble keeping up with Tom, who is storming out of there in the fastest march he can possibly do.

As Tom walks towards the front door, he's got a scowl of death on his face. He's forgotten about Elena's packet already. Only one thing is on his mind: The man who betrayed him and helped cause the failed Torino mission...

And what he was going to do to him when they meet. One way or another, one of them is going to bleed.

**END OF CHAPTER**


	18. End Of The Bargain

_Timeline of chapter: Season 4, Episodes 19 and 20_

* * *

_**Somewhere in Los Angeles** _

It's nighttime in Los Angeles. It's one cloudy night in Los Angeles as a grey blanket hides the moon and stars beyond it.

Tom is leaning on his black Cadillac in an Los Angeles aqueduct, underneath an overpass. He's staring off into space, his thoughts consumed by the man that literally returned fro the dead two nights ago. The only thing providing light is a lone fluorescent tube under the overpass.

In addition to Mitch, he's also allowed some of his thoughts about Elena's files on him creep back into his mind, and neither issue is giving him much reason to feel happy about life right now. He even finds it hard to relax at home with Nadia, despite her best efforts to console him. Nadia did yeoman's work last night, taking him out to dinner and then going to the hockey game that night. His St. Louis Blues were in town to take on the LA Kings. The Blues even won. But no, even that couldn't break Tom's thought process. 

Suddenly, his thoughts are broken up by a car coming down the ramp towards him. The car flashes its lights at him, giving Tom some relief over who it could possibly be as he leans off the car and waves at the man in the car.

The car pulls up next to Tom's and shuts off. Out steps Mike Walcott, Tom's friend from Storm Crew.

The two walk up to each other and give each other a poundhug. "Thanks for getting here as quickly as you could." Tom says, still tense over things.

Mike shakes his head as he releases the hug. "No problem. Why are we meeting like this...in our old Anti-Cartel meeting spot?"

"I didn't want to risk saying anything over your phone line, and I wanted to make sure your presence in Los Angeles remains unknown. That's why I was vague and dancing around the obvious last night."

Mike folds his arms, at a loss for why he's in Los Angeles. He does note that Tom looks very tense. "So what's going on?"

Tom sighs and says it. "Mitch is alive."

Mike gets a look of shock on his face, like he just stepped on a hot coal. "What? How is that possible, they found his body..."

"Project Helix."

Mike quickly gets a dismayed look on his face and turns and slams his hand on the hood of his car. "That son of a bitch!"

Tom looks surprised at Mike's uncharacteristic outburst. "Calm down, Mike! What happened to my friend that had ice water running through his veins?"

Mike sighs and turns back to Tom. "Nothing boils that ice water like Mitch. I just hate that man with a passion for what he did to us. Sorry about that."

Tom shakes his head. "Nothing to be sorry about, just surprised me is all. Trust me, I had a similar reaction when he called me last night."

"And what did the rat bastard have to say?"

"He told me that he's going to be contacting me soon. He's in league with this ex-KGB cancer named Elena Derevko, and he has something that I apparently want. He wouldn't say what, and he wouldn't say when or how he'd contact me. That's why you're here now."

"Do you want me to try to find Mitch before he contacts you?"

Tom shakes his head quickly. "No, there's no telling if he's even in Los Angeles at all at this point. But I want you there at our meet."

"So I can make sure everything is on the up-and-up?"

Tom looks down. "That, and..." Tom then pauses and shakes his head, a sudden thought doing its best to vex him at the moment.

Mike looks concerned over this. "Tom, what is it?"

Tom lets out a defeated sigh. "Torino could have been averted when we formed Storm Crew. I should have just left Mitch at Langley to rot..." Tom then looks up at Mike with a solemn look on his face, like he's looking at a man he betrayed. "...and I should have made you my right-hand man from the get-go. You were my closest and most loyal friend for nearly my entire run in the Anti-Cartel, and I lost sight of that. That's my second biggest regret in life next to tripping over that freaking wire in Torino."

Mike pats Tom on the shoulder, cracking a small smirk at the same time. "Tom, I understood your reasons at the time. I'm not sure I would have been comfortable assuming control of one of our two teams, anyway. Mitch did teach you and me the ropes and you trusted him. You couldn't have seen what he'd do."

"Yeah, but I know you hated him for trying to sabotage us after we avenged Matt Aguero's death..."

Mike closes his eyes tightly. "I thought we agreed to never even think about that name..."

"I know, I know, I won't bring him up again. Anyway, I want you here so, when I know when and where we're meeting, you can scout it out. Once you're there, we'll work on a plan of action. The meeting might be tonight, might be tomorrow, might be a week from now...who knows. But you can't be seen milling about the city. It's a shitty deal, but..."

Mike nods his head. "I understand. I can lay low, I have a friend that wouldn't mind if I stayed in his basement for a few days and helped him with his rent. He'll know to keep me anonymous."

"Good, and save that number I called you on earlier today. It's a burner phone, so they can't trace it back to me."

Mike nods again. "Gotcha. So, what do you know about this Elena Derevko?"

Tom shakes his head in dismay. "Not much...except that she knows everything there is to know about me."

"How?" Mike says about as confused as can be. 

"She's been keeping tabs on me since I joined the CIA. And I think she was the tail that was following us in the Conquistadores mission in 2001."

Mike thinks for a moment. "Why does she care so much about you?"

Tom looks down and leans back on his car. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Mike leans on his car and folds his arms. "I couldn't believe half the things we saw in Dark Cover. What makes this different?"

"This goes beyond Dark Cover. Apparently, some Italian prophet from the 15th Century decided that I was going to be a part of his grand prophecy."

Mike's jaw drops a bit. "That's ridiculous! You?"

Tom nods his head slowly. "Sydney and Nadia have known for some time that they're a part of it. Part of the hardship that Nadia has gone through in her life is related to her role in the prophecy...I won't even open that can of worms here. But, we started getting suspicions a couple months ago when it was revealed that me and Nadia have something in our bloodstreams that interacts with our pheromones. That's why my head was all scrambled during the Conquistadores mission, I was falling in love with her. That's why I'm stuck to her like glue emotionally. Anyway, it's a Rambaldi device..."

Mike quickly cuts him off. "Rambaldi...we came upon that name a few times in Dark Cover!"

"Milo Rambaldi is that 15th century Italian prophet. The Covenant was primarily after his prophecy, and their Special Sciences division dealt with certain parts of his prophecy. We didn't deal with Rambaldi's prophecy directly in Dark Cover, but you remember James Lennox bringing him up a few times, right?"

Mike nods his head, remembering something. "Oh yeah, right. So, what are you supposed to do in this prophecy?"

"I have no freaking idea. All we know about is that Rambaldi has provided the tools to create this giant device that could possibly about the apocalypse, and that Sydney and Nadia are supposed to fight under this device for the fate of the world. I'm tied to Nadia's fate somehow, which explains what's in our blood."

Mike laughs a bit and shakes his head. "I thought you two were destined to be together, but not like this!"

Tom chuckles back. "I know, I'm still having a hard time coming to grips with it. Me and Nadia both are, actually. But we both agreed to use what we have in our bloodstreams to the maximum and enjoy ourselves around one another. I've been having a tough time with that lately, but Nadia...she's been so good to me, it's ridiculous, even when she deals with the crap that she has to deal with at APO."

"I'd be nice if I could see her this trip, but I'm supposed to stay on the down-low and all..."

"Maybe when the deed's done. But, Elena's files confirmed that I do indeed have a role, and who knows...maybe she's got a different set of eyes on me now. Or her own. Maybe Mitch can provide me with some more information when we see him. Anyway, we should be getting going, I don't want to linger here too long."

Mike nods and says "I better be getting to my friend's. I'll have my phone next to me at all times. Just give me the word."

Tom nods and pats Mike on the shoulder. "Strength and honor."

Mike smirks and pats Tom on the shoulder in return. "Strength and honor...always."

The two then get in their respective cars to leave.

* * *

_It turns out Mike would be at his friend's for about a week. Sloane's clone steals The Orchid at the Italian monastery. Remembering Mike's intel from Sloane's meet in Sicily, Jack confronts Sloane about The Orchid. This causes Sloane to spill the beans about infecting over 400 million people while at Omnifam, although he claims his motives weren't for apocalypse, but for a more peaceful species of human. Sloane ends up going through hypnosis in an attempt to get his clone to tell where The Orchid is. That part of the episode goes as originally aired. We pick up a few days after the hypnosis. The following takes place right before the events of Episode 20._

* * *

_**Tom's apartment** _

Tom and Nadia are in the living room, applying the second coat of orangish-red paint on the walls. The floor is all covered in plastic tarp, to prevent any paint from dripping on the carpet. We see outside the window that it's nighttime. The two are making good progress, having already done the kitchen and about half of the living room up to this point. 

Nadia looks like she's having a good time as she paints. She's got this very satisfied closed smile on her face as she hums a song. Inside Nadia all along was a painter waiting to come out! She's enjoying making this apartment unique with Tom. Speaking of Tom, she looks over at Tom, who's looks like he's focused on his work and does not have the smile or humming that Nadia has right now. With a wider smile smile, Nadia tells him "I'm so happy with how this paint is turning out!"

Tom nods. "Yeah, and I see what you were saying about the difference during the day and night."

Nadia smiles as she continues painting. "I know! When it's light outside, it's nice and light. And when it's night, this place gets so dark and calming!"

Tom looks over at Nadia and smiles, his first smile in many days. "I'll admit that I was skeptical when you suggested painting this place, but it was a fantastic idea. It does give this place a new lease on life."

Nadia stops what she's doing and looks at Tom with a look of excitement. "Well, there you are!"

Tom, who had gone back to painting, stops and looks at her strangely. "Huh?"

Nadia shakes her head. "Oh, I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to your smile! I've missed it the past few days!"

Tom chuckles a bit as he goes back to painting. "Having my mind occupied on painting helps. Plus, you've been very helpful throughout all of this...being the positive to my negative."

Nadia walks over and gives Tom a kiss on the cheek. "I live to see that smile of yours!"

Tom chuckles again and gives Nadia a smile. "Hey, that's my line for you!"

Nadia laughs and rubs his back a little. "Well, I hope you don't mind me borrowing it? It applies for me as well!"

Tom stops painting and turns to Nadia and puts his hands on her shoulders. "Look, when all of this is over, I want us to go on a vacation. I'm looking into getting us a villa for a couple weeks on the beach in San Felipe. I want you to see what it is I've been talking about."

Nadia smiles at the prospect of this trip. "So, you're really serious about us moving down there when we're done with APO..."

"I know it's what I want, but I want you to make it what you want. I think when you get down there and see it for yourself, you'll understand why I love the place so much. Plus, I'd rather us live in Mexico, where we can use the money I have in my safehouses in Tijuana and Campeche."

Nadia looks at him confused. "Why couldn't you bring it across the border?"

"I'm just being cautious. I don't want to try to exchange that money for American dollars. They'll get suspicious at the exchange office if I give them brand new pesos that were made 10 years ago! They'll think they've gone through a time warp, but they'll also know there's something shady going on with that money."

Just as Nadia goes to say something in rebuttal, Tom's cell phone goes off in his pocket.

Tom picks up the phone and looks at the number and gets a worried look on his face. He looks back at Nadia with that worried look. It's time for the showdown with Mitch.

Nadia notices and worriedly asks "Mitch?"

Tom nods slowly. "Yep. Might be time for the big dance number." Tom flips his cell phone open and the first words of his mouth are "I thought I smelled rat just now."

Mitch cockily laughs on the other end. "My, my, you always were one to hold a grudge! Remember Matt Aguero?"

Tom completely ignores the question, but keeps his angry tone with Mitch. "When and where are we doing this?"

"The end of the Santa Monica Pier in an hour and a half. There's a bench there facing the option. No weapons. I'm coming by myself, and I expect you to do the same. If I see anyone else there, I'm out, and I'm taking my present for you with me."

Tom lets out a sarcastic chuckle. "It's not me you should worry about. How the hell can I trust you to keep YOUR end of the bargain?"

"Because Elena has ordered me not to kill you. Plus, I no longer would have anything to gain...unlike two years ago."

Tom sighs. "Fine. I'll be there." Tom hangs up before Mitch can say anything else and looks over at Nadia. "I'm meeting him at the end of the Santa Monica Pier in an hour and a half."

Nadia thinks for a bit, then nods. "Of course, the pier has been closed this week for renovations. I'd be a quiet place if he wanted to kill you."

Tom smirks. "Don't worry, I have an ace up my sleeve that I can play."

Nadia gives Tom a somewhat worried smile and then gives him a hug, resting her head on Tom's chest. "Be safe, ok? I'll finish this up for us and be at Sydney's by the time you're done. I'll tell her you're still back here finishing up."

Tom then lifts Nadia's head up by the chin and gives her a kiss on the lips. As he releases, he tells her "I'll see you in a couple hours, babe. I love you."

Nadia nervously replies "I love you too. Be careful, ok?"

Tom just nods, keeping a stern look on his face. He then walks out the front door...not caring that he's still in his painting clothes.

He gets into his car and opens up the center console, where his prepaid phone is. He dials a number.

On the other end, Mike picks up. "Tom, he called?"

"Santa Monica Pier, end of the pier on a bench overlooking the ocean. Get there now, you're closer than me. The meet's at 9, call me when you arrive, we'll go over the plan at that time. And wear your best disguise, he could be watching."

Tom then hangs up his phone and starts the car.

* * *

_**Santa Monica Pier** _

Tom stands patiently near the bench, which backs up to a closed-up concession stand. It's a full moon tonight in the clear sky. The waves in front of him gently crash around the wooden stilts underneath the pier. The stillness of the moment is only matched by the stillness of the air. Much to Tom's surprise, Mitch chose a well-lit area to meet at, as there's quite a few streetlights around and still on.

Unlike when he rushed out of his apartment in his painting clothes, Tom has since found time to put on a windbreaker and athletic pants. They look brand new.

Tom scans his surroundings once again. Absolutely nothing going on. He sees some of the concession areas are in the process of being painted. He sighs when he sees the ladders and paint buckets...he wishes he was back at his apartment painting with Nadia instead of waiting for the man that betrayed him.

Tom looks down at his electronic watch. It's 8:59...for another 5 seconds. And just as it ticks down to 9:00, he hears a voice off to his right. "You were always one for being punctual, Falk."

Tom looks right and sees his betrayer...a man who, had this been a week ago, would have appeared to him like a ghost. Only instead of shock, Tom can't help but feel disappointment. Mitch stands about Tom's height, maybe an inch or two taller with a similar stocky build that Tom has. He's got a slicked back brown haircut, and some burn scars on the right side of his face.

Tom's able to manage a gruff "Hello, rat."

Mitch just smirks and motions his hand over to the bench. "Have a seat. Stay a while."

Tom takes his seat, making it a point to sit on the left end of the bench. Meanwhile, Mitch takes his seat to Tom's right.

As he does, Tom has something to say. "Something's been weighing on me ever since I learned about your Covenant affiliation."

Mitch smirks, feeling in a cocky mood tonight. "Oh, I hear you have more than me that's weighing you down these days."

Tom looks at him blankly. "What do you mean?"

Mitch leans back in his seat. "Well, I heard what we did to you after you were recovered in Torino." Mitch looks at Tom's right arm that's draped on the back of the bench and gives it a funny look. "Huh, no scars."

"Yeah. Imagine that." Tom leaves it at that, not wanting to bring up his death and resurrection.

Mitch looks back at Tom with his cocky look. "And...I heard about the woman that you're seeing now. Funny, I was there when you and Nadia had your little...flirtations. I was angry that this clown that I was now forced to work under was letting a woman get into his head, especially since he was married! But now...now, I know why you acted like that. Elena told me everything. Who knew Rambaldi was a matchmaker?"

Mitch laughs at the end of that, but Tom doesn't find his humor all that amusing.

Mitch notices. "Aww, still angry over what happened in Torino?"

Tom leans and gets in Mitch's face. "Angry over what happened in Torino? No. Angry about what happened in Cordoba, Spain, when you first set me up to have me taken into Covenant custody? No. Angry that, for the better part of two years, you were feeding the Covenant information on our operations? No. I'm angry at D...all of the above."

Mitch leans back and raises his eyebrows up and down quickly. "That's a lot to be angry at a man about. Now, stand back up. I have to make sure you're not armed."

Tom stands up and extends his arms. "And now, I get to see if you're being honest, too. I'm standing here like a doofus. It'd be very easy for a sniper to pick me off right now...or you if you actually had the balls."

Mitch laughs as he stands up and starts patting Tom down. "Paranoid much? You don't have to worry about me or anyone else killing you tonight. My employer would probably kill ME if I killed you. As I said on the phone, there'd be no joy in it for me now."

Tom shakes his head. "Back to my original question, what's been weighing on me is this: What lies did the Covenant feed you when you were betraying me? What did they promise you?"

Mitch ignores the question and finishes his patdown. "Alright, you're not armed. You always were a man of your word. I also see you came alone, which I also appreciate." Mitch then takes his seat again, and Tom follows suit.

"I asked you a question, Mitch."

Mitch acts like he's remembering something. "Ah yes, what did the Covenant promise me? Well, Tom, after the Argentina mission, there was no way I could confidently follow your lead when we both know that I'm the more experienced of us two. So, they promised me your job as leader of Storm Crew. They figured if you were taken out of the equation, I'd be promoted in your stead."

Tom lets out a sarcastic chuckle and says "Well, I guess that didn't work out for you, huh?"

Mitch shakes his head, but then get a serious look on his face for once. "No. And just so we're clear, it was not my intention to get our friends..."

Tom's eyes bug out. "OUR friends? Friends don't let friends get blown up when they know it's coming!"

Mitch hangs his head. "Well, after Cordoba, I became persona non grata in Dark Cover, as you well know. My deal with the Covenant changed from promotion to protection. The safety of our team was no longer their concern."

Tom processes all that and nods, that story making a lot of sense. He leans back casually. "So, what have you been doing for the past two years?"

Mitch shrugs. "Not much. A little of this, a little of that...getting skin grafts for my burned face. It got burned in the explosion at Torino."

Tom gets a look of mock sorrow on his face. "Aww, poor you. And meanwhile, your son gets to grow up without a father in his life. I know where he and your wife are...and believe me, witness protection put them in a very cold place. I don't think they're having much fun."

Mitch starts laughing. "You're bluffing! Come on, I thought you'd give me more credit..."

Mitch stops in his tracks as Tom reaches into his windbreaker and hands Mitch some pictures of a woman and young boy, wearing winter clothes and walking down the street. As Mitch's confidence washes away while he stares at the pictures, Tom tells him "Someone gave me those recently. They don't look very happy."

Mitch gets a down look on his face. "Look, if I knew I'd lose my family as a result, I wouldn't..."

Tom cuts him off angrily. "But you did. Funny, when someone offers you something that seems too good to be true, it probably is. And that's something that I didn't need you to teach me."

Mitch then forcibly hands Tom the pictures back. "Get these out of my sight."

Tom smirks as he takes the pictures and puts them back in his windbreaker. He looks at his watch and sees it's now 9:04. He looks back at Mitch and decides it's time for the main event of this conversation. "So,  _old friend_ , let's get down to business. What's this present you have for me?"

Mitch reaches into his suit jacket and pulls out an old, somewhat yellowed document that's rolled up. "This Rambaldi document details your role in the prophecy."

Tom's eyebrows raise a bit. Finally, the answer to the riddle surrounding him. "Give it to me."

Mitch shakes his head and pulls the document back. "No. You have to do something for me first."

"I'm never going to work for you or the Covenant. I'm no rat."

Mitch chuckles. "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before. But, Elena needs something taken care of that the Covenant would prefer to go out of the organization for. That's why I'm here."

Tom looks like he's thinking, but he's really stalling.

"Cat got your tongue... _old friend?_ "

The alarm on Tom's watch starts beeping.

Mitch now looks concerned and uneasy. "What was that?"

Tom shakes his head. "Oh, nothing, just the alarm for my pill. My left shoulder still hurts sometimes from the Project Alloy surgery. Normally, I take the pill now."

Mitch shrugs it off. But, unbeknownst to him, Mike has suddenly appeared behind him, holding a blue tarp, chains, and a concrete block.

Tom looks past Mitch's ear at Mike and smiles. "Well, looks like we have ourselves a Storm Crew reunion!"

Mitch looks at him confused and turns around and spots Mike there. His eyes bug out in shock when his eyes meet Mike's. "This meet was supposed to be just us!"

Unfortunately for Mitch, while his attention was focused on Mike, Tom grabbed his Mayan pocket knife that was taped to the back of the bench. Wasting no time, Tom lunges forward and, with his left hand, holds Mitch's mouth closed...

...and with his right hand, he plunges the knife into the back of Mitch's head!

Mitch spasms quickly and his eyes bug out of his head because of the pain of a knife that is now about four inches inside his skull, having entered right where the head and neck meet at the base of the skull.

Tom, meanwhile, has a sinister smirk on his face as he holds the knife and Mitch's mouth shut, to prevent his screams from being heard.

Tom leans forward and starts whispering in a dying Mitch's ear. "I guess I didn't keep up my end of the bargain when it came to weapons. But, you didn't keep up your end of the bargain when you betrayed us. Consider us even."

Tom then twists the knife, causing Mitch to let out a muffled scream and his eyes to bulge out more. Tom's face turns serious as he whispers "That was for Chris, Eddie, Jerome, Luke, Jacob, and Charlie...that was for our friends that you helped bury in the rubble in Torino..."

Tom twists the knife again, again causing Mitch to let out a muffled scream. Tom's sinister smirk returns as he says "...and that was for me, and the physical and emotional pain I had to endure as a result of your betrayal. Go rot in hell, you backstabbing piece of shit."

Tom pulls the knife out from the back of Mitch's head, forcing some blood to flow out the back. Mitch collapses to the right, closes his eyes, and lets out his final, dying breath.

Tom looks at Mitch for a few seconds, going over what he just did. He looks down at his knife, which is now coated with Mitch's dark red blood...right down to the green handle and the Mayan bat symbol. He closes the knife and looks up at Mike, who was standing there as the murder went down.

Mike starts nodding his head slowly, forcing Tom to do the same. They now can take comfort that vengeance for their dead friends has officially been delivered, and there's now no doubt that Mitch is dead. Tom and Mike both know this, and nothing further needs to be said.

Tom stands up and grabs the Rambaldi document from Mitch's right hand and tucks it down the back of his pants. As he's doing that, Mike has set the tarp down on the ground and opened it up. Tom grabs Mitch under the shoulders. He tells Mike "Grab the legs."

Mike does as instructed and helps Tom lift Mitch off of the bench and onto the tarp. After setting him down, Tom takes off his now-bloody windbreaker and athletic pants, revealing the painting clothes he had on and the Rambaldi document, which we find is really tucked into the back of his jeans. He tosses the windbreaker and athletic pants on Mitch's dead body, and Mike starts to wrap up Mitch's body.

Tom then grabs a plastic bag Mike had on him and takes out a cloth and a bottle of bleach. After soaking the cloth in bleach, he starts wiping down the bench, mainly the areas where blood poured from Mitch's neck.

When he's done, he puts everything back in the bag and walks over to help Mike finish chaining up Mitch's tarp. He loops the chain through the bag handles and the holes in the concrete block on Mitch's chest and fastens the chains up with a lock.

Tom then squats down on one side and Mike does on the other. Tom takes a deep breath. "Alright, this bastard is going to be heavy."

Mike nods. "Seems like he's been well-fed of late, too."

"Alright, let's do this. 3...2...1..." The two then grunt loudly as they lift each side of Mitch up.

Luckily for Tom and Mike, it's only a few feet until they hit the end of the fishing pier. Huffing and puffing, they finally set Mitch's body on the ledge and push it over. It splashes into the water and, after some bubbling and gurgling, Mitch sinks into the ocean. Tom and Mike both lean over and watch as the last traces of Mitch fade away.

After a few seconds of silence, Mike speaks up. "We should have did this in Cordoba, when we realized what was going on with him."

Tom, still a little winded from carrying Mitch's body, gives him an irritated look. "Well, you talked me out of it, remember?"

Mike nods as he looks somber now. "Yeah. You're not the only one that has to live with mistakes in judgment."

Tom then pats Mike on the back. "Well, we finished the job. No regrets. Now come on, let's go to my place and wash up. You'll get to see why my shirt has orangish-red paint on it!"

Mike chuckles a bit as the two walk back down the pier.

* * *

_Rambaldi artifacts get stolen at the DSR. While that goes down, Director Chase discovers the Hydrosek was moved from Nadia's computer and the security at the DSR was compromised...also via Nadia's computer. They go to Sydney's and question Nadia about her laptop. Jack and Sloane arrive and they come to the realization that Sophia was really Elena Derevko. We pick up after that._

* * *

_**Sydney's apartment** _

Tom pulls up to Sydney's apartment and immediately notices a lot of cars parked in front. Something doesn't seem right here. His first thought is to keep on driving, thinking these cars could be there for him after he killed Mitch tonight. But Nadia wouldn't rat Tom out, so he realizes these cars are not for him.

After cleaning up at his apartment, he's dressed in a plain white shirt and blue jeans. He steps out of his car, opens the trunk, and takes out his luggage bag. He quickly walks up to Sydney's door and notices it's unlocked.

Wasting no time, he opens the door and finds Jack, Sloane, Chase, Sydney, and Nadia sitting in the living room, along with other CIA agents. They all look just as surprised to see him as he's surprised to see them.

As he walks down the steps leading to the rest of the apartment, he asks "What's going on?"

Chase speaks up. "We believe Elena Derevko hacked Nadia's laptop and helped orchestrate numerous infractions on the CIA."

Tom shakes his head quickly. "How? Nadia keeps her laptop on her at all times..."

Nadia has a major look of remorse on her face. "It happened when we were having dinner with Sophia. We think Sophia is actually Elena. She used my computer to transfer the Hydrosek. She also had a bug in my necklace and stole Rambaldi artifacts at the DSR tonight."

Tom's eyes bug out of his head in surprise as he sets his luggage on the breakfast bar and shakes his head. "Wow...I mean...I had my suspicions, but I don't know what to..."

Sloane cuts him off. "Why were you suspicious?"

Tom walks to the living room. "Just the things she said. She seemed like she knew more about us than she let on. Something seemed eerily cool about her." Tom then looks back over at Nadia. "That means you were really raised by Elena. I'm so sorry."

Nadia just looks down and says nothing.

Jack can't help but ask "What are you doing here?"

Tom folds his arms. "Me and Nadia are painting our apartment and we're staying here while we let it air out. I had something to take care of while Nadia finished up."

Nadia looks at him surprised. He wasn't supposed to say anything!

Sydney gives him a confused look. "Nadia told me you were back at the apartment finishing up."

Tom turns and walks up to his luggage on the breakfast bar. "Well, I guess since everyone is here, I guess I can reveal what I was really up to tonight. He opens the luggage and pulls out the Rambaldi document he acquired from Mitch and holds it out for everyone to see.

We see that this document has a picture that looks VERY much like Tom (a la Sydney and Page 47), along with Rambaldi text that we can't read. Under his picture, we see  _"The Caretaker"_ written in English. We also see that the document is shorter than most Rambaldi documents, like it's missing the bottom half.

Everyone looks surprised to see this document, especially Sloane.

"I had a meeting with an old friend of mine tonight. He was working on behalf of Elena Derevko. He had this in his possession. This is the answer to the riddle of what my role is."

Chase quickly asks "Why didn't you inform anyone of this meet?"

Tom looks over at Nadia, then back at Chase. "Because, the man I was meeting was Mitch Hayes, the rat in Storm Crew that was feeding the Covenant information on me. This was personal."

Sydney looks confused. "I thought Mitch was dead."

"Turns out the body the Italians found in Torino was a Project Helix double. Anyway, we won't be seeing him again."

Sloane quickly picks up on Tom's play on words. "You killed this man."

Sydney and Nadia look at him in shock. Chase quickly stands up and angrily asks "You murdered Mitch Hayes?"

Tom shakes his head. "You can't kill what what is already dead, Director. Mitch Hayes officially died on June 6th, 2003 in Torino, Italy."

Chase just looks at him blankly. "Where is his body?"

"Mitch is wrapped in blue tarp in the bottom of the ocean next to the fishing pier at the Santa Monica Pier."

Chase sighs, then gets a sarcastic tone. "We'll have to extract the body to ensure he's still dead after all these years. Were there any other witnesses?"

Tom shakes his head, despite knowing Mike was there with him. "No. I acted alone. I kept it quiet and discreet."

Sloane, still looking at the document, can't help but notice there's something missing. "Where is the other half of this document?"

Tom shrugs. "Beats me. This was all he had on him. He wanted me to do a task for the Covenant for that...10 seconds later, I drove a knife into the back of his head."

Sydney's eyebrows raise a bit at the nature of Tom's kill. Tom's cold-bloodedness bothers her quite a bit.

Meanwhile, Chase grabs the document from Tom and examines it. "Looks like the bottom half was either torn or cut off."

Tom looks over at Sloane curiously. "Why would the other half be missing?"

Sloane smartly replies "Why are you asking me?"

Tom shrugs. "Well, you're supposed to be an expert on these things."

Sloane is not amused. "The fact that you even have a role is still new to me. So, despite appearances, I don't know everything."

Chase cuts their banter off. "I'll have the DSR translate the text and we'll get back to you."

Tom looks confused. "All of the Rambaldi documents were stolen..."

"We still can decode it there. We'll let you know as soon as it's done." Chase then walks over and stands in front of Tom's face and quietly says "We'll also discuss your actions tonight in the near future." Chase then walks off angrily.

Tom watches her walks away, then walks over and sits next to Nadia and puts his arm around her. "I can't even begin to think how you're feeling now. I can't believe that Elena was Sophia all along."

Nadia looks at him funny. "You suspected that she wasn't being straight with us..."

Tom shakes his head. "But I didn't think it was possible that she'd be Elena herself. Most people that try to be something they're not start showing cracks over time. Mitch was cracking before Torino badly. But, Elena has done this doppelganger act for decades without anyone being the wiser. I'm so sorry this had to happen..."

Nadia cuts him off. "Don't be. I'm not angry. I'm actually relieved I know the truth. But, why aren't you angry? The information she collected on you drove you crazy for the past week!"

Tom looks away and shakes his head. "Because, I now know what my enemy looks like, and I feel that same relief you do. And if I get the chance, I'll be more than happy to do to her what I did to Mitch tonight."

Sydney then folds her arms. "When you told us about what you did to Mitch, you were very cool about it. In fact, you almost seemed...happy."

Tom looks at Sydney with a bit of a scowl. "I lost any remorse for killing people in 1996, when a good friend of mine named Matt Aguero was savagely tortured by a small, yet bloodthirsty gang in southern Mexico. Anyway, I won't go down that road here. Mitch's actions led to my team being killed and my life being dramatically changed. When he called me the night the Hydrosek was stolen, I knew what I had to do. Plus, I feel relieved that I'm finally going to know what my role is."

Suddenly, Nadia stands up and looks at Tom with a look like she just doesn't want to deal with any of this anymore. In a plain, defeated voice, she says "I'm going to bed. The painting at the apartment is done, we'll go back there tomorrow. Good night everyone."

Tom stands up and tells Sydney "Good night."

Sydney says "Good night" as Tom walks to the kitchen and grabs his luggage and follows Nadia to bed. Tom and Nadia wouldn't say a thing to each other before going to bed.

* * *

_Sloane goes to meet Lazlo Drake...and gets a surprise visitor in Sydney, who also objected to Sloane going alone along with Tom and Dixon in the conference room. However, as Sloane and Sydney watch Drake's security video, Sloane knocks Sydney out as Elena tells Drake where her facility is in the video. Jack, seeing as they're out of options, meets with Katya Derevko, who reveals that Elena is the real ringleader behind the Covenant. She also tells Jack that Elena is in Prague. Meanwhile, in Prague, Sloane pledges his allegiance to Elena. Sydney, Nadia, and Dixon go to Prague and infiltrate Elena's facility. Tom is not included in this mission. Dixon ends up discovering Sloane, only to get shot in the back by Elena. Later, when he's laid out in the hospital, Dixon reveals to Sydney and Nadia that he believes he saw Irina Derevko in Prague, shackled as a prisoner. This sets up the events that will take place in the next episode...and chapter._

* * *

**END OF CHAPTER**


	19. Cutthroat

_Timeline of Chapter: Season 4, Episode 21_

* * *

_**?** _

Tom stands in the middle of a city...or what was once a city, anyway.

Complete, utter desolation surrounds him. Buildings with windows smashed out, cars crashed and piled on each other, fires everywhere, and bodies...lots and lots of dead bodies. Everything has an orange hue to it, but Tom's not sure if it's from the fires or the big orange ball in the sky.

Tom looks up to the right and sees two women standing on the roof underneath the orange ball, staring at each other. He realizes who they are and he runs into the building, knowing something bad is about to happen to one or the other.

Tom starts running up a flight of stairs. Even though the building is just 5 stories or so, it seems like the stairs never stop. He's running...and running...and running...and running...but he's getting no closer to the top. He feels himself getting more and more exhausted, his legs feel more and more like lead with every step.

Finally, he squeezes some extra energy out of him and sprints harder and finally reaches the rooftop door. He runs through it and runs out to the rooftop.

He immediately sees Sydney drive a knife into Nadia's chest. And that's when Tom realizes he's in a nightmare.

Nadia collapses in a heap and her body goes lifeless as it hits the ground. Tom tries to scream in agony, but he can't hear himself. In fact, no one can hear his screaming, not even himself. It's as if his presence there means nothing to no one except himself.

After pulling the knife out of Nadia's chest, Sydney looks over at Tom and suddenly, his presence has quite a bit of meaning. That's because Sydney starts slowly walking to him.

Tom staggers backward in fear, afraid that Sydney is going to kill him as well. Eventually, he backs into the door and freezes. He's got nowhere to go now.

A calm, sedate Sydney stands in front of him and hands Tom the knife she used to kill Nadia. A closer look reveals it's actually Tom's Mayan pocket knife. In an almost robotic voice, she tells a fearful Tom "It's all your fault."

Tom wants to cry, but no tears come out. He looks down at his hands and sees blood drenched all over them. Blood drips off his fingertips and down his arms.

As he's looking at his hands and the blood dripping off of them, Sydney remains chillingly calm. "That's Nadia's blood on your hands. You could have saved her, but you didn't. You weren't there for her."

Tom closes his eyes and finally tears start to pour out of his eyes like a running faucet. Nadia is gone and he wasn't there to save her. It's his worst fear and it feels so real...even though he knows in the back of his mind, he knows this is a nightmare.

As he's fighting his emotions, he says "It's all my fault...it's all my fault..."

* * *

_**Tom's apartment** _

Nadia is in bed, kneeling over Tom and trying to restrain him while he goes through his nightmare. She was awoken suddenly from a fitful sleep herself when Tom started thrashing his legs, almost as if he were running. Then came the sleep talking...or more like sleep yelling.

Seeing as she's not having much luck in providing Tom any comfort and realizing he's having a brutal nightmare of some sort, she finally yells "Tom!"

Tom suddenly wakes up and sits up quickly. Sweat is pouring out of his body and his breathing is fast and labored. He stares blankly into the darkness ahead.

Nadia, next to him in bed, is sitting up as well, having had to move out of the way quickly from Tom snapping up. She observes him for a bit to make sure he realizes where he is before turning around and turning on her bedside lamp.

Tom turns on the light next to him to get a look at Nadia's face. Still breathing heavy, he cracks a surprised and downright relieved smile. "You're alive..."

Nadia doesn't feel the same sense of relief Tom does, though. In fact, she's still worried sick about him. "Tom, you were having a nightmare. You kept screaming and saying 'it's all my fault'..."

Tom, with a look of total fear on his face, turns away. "It seemed so real...I thought I had lost you..."

Nadia leans over and rubs Tom's back trying to comfort him. "It's ok, it's over now. I'm here."

"I was standing in this city...everything around me was either destroyed or dead...and then I looked up and saw you and Sydney on the rooftop of this building. I ran to save you, but I wasn't fast enough...Sydney stabbed you in the heart with my pocket knife, but your blood was on my hands..."

Nadia shakes her head quickly, refusing to believe what she's hearing. "Tom, it wasn't real..."

Tom quickly snaps Nadia a fearful look. "It SEEMED so real! Everything was lit up in this orange light, fires everywhere...it was so vivid!"

Nadia looks away for a bit as she remembers something. "I had a vision like this in Siena with my father a year ago."

"What? What happened?"

"I had all of these images just flash in front of me. When I touched the Sphere of Life, I saw these quick flashes of death...fire...destruction..."

Tom wipes some tears away on his face. "I hope these are just dreams. You've become such an important part of my life, I don't know how I'd function without you."

Nadia looks back at Tom and gives him a hug to try to hug and reassure him. "I know how you feel. You've made me feel so much better about myself and I hate imagining life without you. But with everything we've been through, we'll get by this. We have to."

"But that means Sydney would have to die, and..."

Nadia releases the hug quickly, a reflex because she doesn't even want to entertain the thought. "Don't even think about that! I'd never fight my sister!"

"Not willingly. But, we now know that there's a way to get you to fight, thanks to what your father put in the water that over 400 million people drank."

Nadia looks down at the bed. Tom hasn't talked about Sloane's betrayal much since it happened, probably not wanting to touch a nerve with her. But it is an issue that needs to be dealt with somehow. "I still can't believe my father betrayed me. I wanted to believe that he had chose me over Rambaldi, but now I feel like a fool. You and Sydney knew all along..."

Tom cuts her off by lifting up her chin slowly. "Nadia, I wanted SO BAD to think that he changed and made you his priority in life. I had my doubts, but I didn't see him turning like this. Not now...not after Elena drove a dagger in your back."

Nadia shakes her head and sighs at the mention of Elena. More than anything, she feels foolish for falling for her ruse all her life. "You once told me that you felt that your life was one giant lie after reading Elena's files. Now, I understand how you felt."

Tom cracks an understanding smirk. "But you know what's funny? The fact that, despite being brought up by an evil woman, despite having an evil father, you're a wonderful human being. Why do you think that is?"

Nadia shakes her head again. "I'm not wonderful. I've killed people, I've deceived people, I've robbed people, and on top of that, I'm such a fool for believing in my father and Elena."

Tom shakes his head and gently puts his hands on her shoulders. "You had valid reasons for doing all those things. As far as your dad goes, think about why you love me. I've done some heinous things in my life. I've killed many people, I've tortured many more people, and I just murdered someone a couple days ago and dumped him in the ocean without any remorse. He deserved it, but I had to do the dirty deed in the first place. But despite all that, you still love me for the man I am. You have such a big heart, and I love that so much about you. I came to APO to be there for you and protect you, but you've gone above and beyond anything I've done for you so far. I owe you my life a thousand times over for all that you've done for me. And that's why that nightmare scared me so much...I just love you too damn much."

Nadia cracks a touched smile and puts her hands on Tom's shoulders in return. "And I love you so much, too. I can always count on you. That's what I love about you the most."

Tom sniffles a bit as the tears start to reform in his eyes. He leans forward and touches foreheads with Nadia. "I will always be there for you, Nadia. I made you that promise in the hospital when I returned to life, and I will always stand by it. My biggest fear in life is losing you...and I won't ever let that happen. Not on my watch."

Nadia gives Tom a kiss on the cheek and wipes some of Tom's tears away with a reassuring smile. "I know you will. Now, let's get some sleep. No more nightmares, ok!" Nadia laughs at the end to try to get Tom to smile and put the nightmare he just had behind him.

It works. Tom chuckles a bit as gives Nadia a peck on the lips. "Deal. I love you, beautiful."

Nadia quickly fires back "I love you, handsome!" and returns the peck on the lips with one of her own.

The two then fall back into bed with reassured smiles on their faces...both of them feeling much better about things than they were just a few minutes ago.

They both turn off their bedside lamps and fall asleep holding one another, as they usually tend to do.

* * *

_**APO Office** _

Tom and Nadia are seated at their desks when Director Chase walks up to them. She tells them in her usual sternness "We've decoded the Rambaldi manuscript you provided us, Tom. There's a meeting in the conference room."

Tom and Nadia stand up immediately, eager to hear what's in it.

They don't get very far before Chase cuts them off. "You go on in, Nadia, I need a word with Tom alone."

Nadia nods and walks off, looking at Tom a little worried as she does. She has a feeling over what this conversation will be about.

Tom stands at his desk and looks at Chase curiously as she stands across the desk from him. "What is this about?"

Chase doesn't mince words. "You went rogue on us when you murdered Mitch Hayes."

Tom angrily retorts "I was on APO business!"

Chase gets in Tom's face. "Lower your voice when you're around me, got it?"

Tom holds up his hands and takes a deep breath, letting Chase ease back a bit. "Fine. But, I was able to acquire the Rambaldi document that details my role in the prophecy through this meet in the process. The means justified the ends."

"Yes, but you didn't inform anyone about it, and you committed an unauthorized murder."

Tom chuckles. "How can it be murder when the guy is already dead?"

Chase thinks for a second, then replies "Yes, the CIA's official position is that Mitch Hayes still died on June 6th, 2003. We found his body in of the ocean, where you said it was, and disposed of it. This incident will be swept under the rug, but you listen to me..." Chase leans back forward, almost touching Tom's nose with her own. "This incident gave me another reason to go over your record in the Anti-Cartel. I went over the fallout over the death of your friend, Matt Aguero, and did some extra research of my own. And your conduct in that time period was beyond reprehensible and quite frankly, had I known about what you did after he died, you wouldn't be in the CIA now. So I'm going to tell you right here and now...one more display like what you did a few days ago with Mitch and forget about being kicked out of the CIA! I'll make sure you're prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for whatever it is you did. I can't try you for your Anti-Cartel crimes, and technically I can't charge you with a crime for Hayes' death, but I will hold all of that against you. Are we clear?"

Tom forms an angry, defensive scowl on his face, but on the inside, he knows that the line in the sand has been drawn in front of him, and it's closer than he ever thought. He always wondered where that line was in his career...he's found it now. "Crystal. And if everything works out the way I want, I'm taking early retirement and getting out of the CIA. So, you won't have to worry about me for much longer."

Chase stands back up straight. "Fine. Let's go, we have a document to discuss."

* * *

Everyone is assembled in the conference room in their usual positions.

Tom is leaning forward on his elbows, his folded hands on the table. He's extremely nervous over what's to come. He ever asked to be in a prophecy, but neither did Sydney and Nadia. While those two have accepted it, Tom's still coming to grips with it and he's having a hard time.

Jack starts off the meeting. "We have decoded the Rambaldi manuscript that Tom provided to us a few days ago. Before I begin, we did confirm that someone cut off the bottom half, and judging by the cut marks, it was done recently."

Tom looks up at Jack quickly with a panicked look. "Why?"

"We have no idea why, or what the bottom part of the document contains. But, we were able to find out a lot based on what we information we found in the document."

Tom leans back and takes a deep breath. "Ok, let's do it."

Jack picks up a separate sheet of paper. "The text goes as follows: 'The Caretaker's main focus is The Passenger. When injected with The Connection, the two will know the instant they meet each other that they are meant to be together. The Caretaker will become driven to serve as the protector of The Passenger and ensure her continued love and happiness, and The Passenger will feel the same about him. Should The Passenger perish, The Caretaker will destroy everything in his path before destroying her killer, but will end up willingly destroying himself in the process. Should The Passenger defeat The Chosen One, The Caretaker will continue to fight for the survival of The Passenger, no matter what they face in the aftermath of The Chosen One's death. The Caretaker will help usher in a new era of durable human with his metallic skeleton. And finally, The Caretaker will be the protector of my ultimate prophecy, and only he can access it through the methods at the bottom of this page.'" At that point, Jack stops.

Still staring at the table in front of him, hanging on every word, Tom waits for him to continue. When he hears nothing more, he looks at him, wondering why he stopped. "That's it? No instructions?"

Jack shakes his head. "No. That rest was cut off."

Tom chuckles as he shakes his head. What he just heard was one of the damnedest assessments of him that he can ever remember. "This guy has me nailed, I'll give him that. But what is this ultimate prophecy that he's talking about?"

"We don't know. Nothing was mentioned about it in any other Rambaldi document."

Tom then shakes his head again. "Are we sure this document is valid? I mean, that sketch of my face looks like I posed for it, how could he know I look like that?"

Sydney feels the need to interject. "How could Rambaldi know that I look the way I do?"

Tom then buries his head in his hands after hearing Sydney's logical question. He accepts that it's real. "He brought up the possibility of Nadia dying. That can't happen...it won't..."

Now it's Nadia's turn to interject. "But, he also says I could live..."

Tom looks at her, almost trembling. "Yeah, and that doesn't sound rosy either, based on what Rambaldi alluded to about the 'aftermath'."

"It's no one's intention that Sydney and Nadia clash to the death." Jack says, trying to reassure Tom a little.

Tom shakes his head, not sold at all. "In the time I've been here, I've learned that even the best of intentions are worthless when someone else is controlling the puppet strings. Has Rambaldi been wrong yet?" Tom then looks back down with an extremely troubled look on his face. He doesn't get an answer to that question.

After some silence, Jack finally speaks up. "Anyway, that's all. We should get back to work. We need to find Elena."

The team gets up and leaves the conference room. Tom remains seated, staring off into space, digesting what he has just heard. After about a minute, he gets up and gets back to work, but the feeling of impending doom lingers with him, and it's obvious to anyone that notices him.

* * *

_Not long after this, Nadia learns the truth about Jack murdering her mother (or so they all thought before Dixon found her). She doesn't take it well and Tom knows better than to try to interject himself in that mess, especially with his mind tied in knots over his Caretaker role. Meanwhile, the team is subjected to the first videos from Sovogda, Russia. The city is in chaos, with people rioting and fighting on the streets under a giant Mueller Device ball. They determine that Irina Derevko is the only person who can disarm the device properly. Sydney and Vaughn talk to a former Covenant associate who informs the team of her whereabouts after some creative coercion. While that happens, this conversation between Tom and Nadia takes place._

* * *

_**APO Conference Room** _

Tom and Nadia walk in to the conference room. Nadia stops and turns to Tom and, noticing that they're alone and no one is following them, asks Tom "What is it?"

Tom lets out a worried sigh as he looks into Nadia's eyes. "Nadia...in my dream, I saw Sovogda. This is where you and Sydney will fight!"

Nadia shakes her head defiantly, refusing to believe it. "You don't know that..."

"Yes, I do..."

Nadia cuts him off loudly. "No, you don't! It was a dream!"

Tom sighs and looks down at the ground sheepishly. "I just have a feeling that your fight with Sydney is going to happen soon and after hearing my prophecy, I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. Either you die and I go on the warpath or you live and...well, I'm not really sure. Sounds like we'd be together, but what kind of reality will we face?"

Nadia looks down herself. "I wish I knew. I wish I knew a lot of things. I wish I knew that Jack didn't kill my mother."

Tom looks back up at Nadia. "Remember, my mother said that Irina was alive. And I learned that Mitch was alive thanks to Project Helix. I don't think there's a question anymore that she's alive, but I'm just not sure if we can trust her."

Nadia flashes Tom a defensive look and folds her arms. "What are you talking about? Why wouldn't my mother want to stop her sister after what happened to her?"

"Who's to say they're not in cahoots with each other, and that Irina being a prisoner is really just a smoke screen of some sort?"

Nadia shakes her head and looks at Tom a little irritated. "Tom, think about what you're saying..."

Tom laughs. "I am! We both know what Irina has done in her life, and if there's one person in this world that's cagier than your father, it's your mother. I don't want to see you get burned again by someone you want the love and affection of."

Nadia can't do anything more about that statement than sigh. "I appreciate that you're looking out for me, but I need to know for myself. I hope that you'll support me..."

She's cut off by Jack walking into the conference room. "Sydney and Vaughn have learned that Irina was transferred from Prague. She's being held at a remote location in Guatemala."

Tom's eyes perk up when he hears 'Guatemala'. He spent a fair amount of time there in his Anti-Cartel days. "Whereabouts in Guatemala?"

"A compound in the Tikal area." Jack suddenly remembers Tom's work history. "She's in the jungle south of the city."

 

Tom nods his head quickly. "Yes, that's Alberto Carrillo's territory."

"How sure of you are that? You've been detached from Latin America for some time."

Tom smirks. "Because no one screws with Alberto Carrillo. He's ex-military and most of his gang is as well. Last I checked, he has a force strong and fierce enough to conquer the whole area if he wanted to."

"So why doesn't he?"

"He's an idealist. A freedom fighter. Territory isn't his concern, he's content with what he has. He just wants to preserve the freedom he's earned."

"Do you think he's an ally of Elena?"

Tom shakes his head. "No. Alberto barely trusts his own shadow. But, an operation like his needs cash flow just for food, ammo, weapons, clothing, and on and on. This is a contract job, and Elena's probably making it worth his while to hold onto Irina."

Jack nods. "How well do you know his territory?"

"I usually cut a wide path around Carrillo's turf, but I know the roads and I know the lay of the land. I can help."

Nadia looks at Tom a little concerned at his sudden motivation to help. Tom's not exactly been a strong advocate for her mother, but he seems determined now to help out. Is it simply because he's going back into familiar territory for him and feels useful? Nadia's not so sure.

Jack replies "That's fine, let's go." Jack turns and Tom and Nadia start to follow him.

As they're walking, Nadia asks Tom "What are you doing?"

Tom turns to her and plainly says "Supporting you."

Nadia turns away from Tom with a worried look as they continue to walk behind Jack.

* * *

_Jack, Sydney, Nadia, and Tom arrive at the river entry point in Guatemala. Tom helps Sydney and Nadia set up their raft before they leave as the sisters discuss the impending doom that is coming down the pike. Then, Tom leaves with Jack to head to the extraction point, leaving Sydney and Nadia to go extract Irina. We pick up during the big escape after Sydney and Nadia recover Irina._

* * *

_**Guatemala** _

Sydney catches herself in a trap and is strung up by her feet upside down. Nadia gives Irina her knife so she can cut Sydney while she goes and provides cover.

Nadia pulls out her handgun and kills one of her pursuers. She goes to grab the dead man's machine gun, but another man ambushes her and starts a fight with her.

Nadia holds her own for a while, but this man is much bigger than her and, after knocking Nadia's makeshift staff out of her hand, starts strangling her. His hands are big and strong and easily wrap around her thin neck as if she were a child. There is no breaking this hold for Nadia and a thought crosses her mind: "If only Tom were here."

Luckily for her, he was.

All of the sudden, we see a hand pull the man's forehead back and a knife quickly slices his throat, causing blood to gush out of it and causing the man to convalesce.

Meanwhile, this allows Nadia to get released from the man's grip and she starts catching her breath.

 

Suddenly, we hear a familiar, gruff voice speak to her assailant in a low, sinister voice. " _Usted pandilleros guatemaltecos saben que no deben poner una mano sobre la novia Halcón Diablo_!" (You Guatamalan gangbangers know better than to lay a hand on Halcón Diablo's girlfriend!)

The man is then allowed to fall, and after he collapses, we see Tom Falk standing there as he wipes the blood on his knife on his pants.

Nadia observes him for a moment as she catches his breath. She thought Tom was cold stabbing Mitch to death, but the absolute lack of care on Tom's face as he nonchalantly wipes off his knife is making her feel downright chilly. For as warm and loving as he can be, Tom has a very cold and dark side to him that she's getting a glimpse of right now.

Tom then looks at Nadia and reverts back to being warm and loving almost the moment his eyes lock with Nadia's. "Are you ok?"

Before Nadia can respond, they hear and see two more men come from behind.

Tom quickly turns and blocks a punch and rams his knife into the man's neck, his knife back to being a bloody mess.

Meanwhile, the other man goes after Nadia, but isn't successful as Nadia takes care of him with another staff.

When that's done, Nadia and Tom grab the assault rifles of the defeated men. Then, she frantically looks at Tom. "We have to go! Follow me!"

Tom nods and takes off behind Nadia in a dead sprint.

Tom and Nadia catch back up with Irina and Sydney just as Sydney is cut down. Sydney notices Tom and immediately looks shocked. "What are you..."

A still-sprinting Nadia quickly cuts her off, thrusting her assault rifle into Sydney's chest. "They're right behind us!"

The four then take off for their raft, with at least two men with assault rifles chasing them. Nadia and Irina take the lead while Sydney and Tom stay a few steps behind to ward off the men.

They get to a clearing and each of them stands to the side of the path behind some trees. With their assault rifles, they mow down their pursuers when they appear. Sydney doesn't like killing people, but Tom doesn't seem the least bit bothered. Neither have time to dwell on their willingness to kill another person.

As Tom and Sydney jump into the raft with Nadia and Irina, a humvee pulls up. Tom shoots down one of the men while Sydney quickly grabs a grenade and throws it, blowing up humvee and remaining men following them.

Now that the coast is clear, they pull away in the raft.

* * *

_On the plane, Irina reveals details from a Rambaldi manuscript she found: Il Diluvio, aka "The Flood", that foretells the cleansing of the world via apocalypse. She also details her time in captivity._

_Tom then watches on as Irina realizes that black-haired woman who helped save her is Nadia, her daughter. Tom can't help but feel touched at the sight of them embracing...and also relieved. His opinion of Irina immediately shifts for the better._

_Later, Tom gets up from his seat next to Nadia to let a freshly-clothed Irina sit and discuss the plan in Sovogda._

* * *

_**Somewhere over US airspace** _

Irina, Nadia, and Sydney remain seated while Jack answers a phone call. Tom is standing at the end of the table, absorbing everything Irina has to say.

Suddenly, Irina looks up at Tom as she's talking and stops in her tracks. She starts giving him a funny look, which causes Tom to look at her suspiciously.

After a couple seconds, Tom breaks the silent stalemate. "What?"

Irina plainly replies "I know you."

Tom chuckles and looks at Nadia and Sydney, then back at Irina. "There's only one Derevko sister that knew who I was before I met them..."

"You're The Caretaker."

Tom's face freezes in surprise. Sydney and Nadia look equally surprised as Tom asks her "How did you know about that?"

Irina gives Tom a warm smile. "Well, two things gave you away. You bear a striking resemblance to the picture on the manuscript and..." Irina turns to Nadia and her smile widens. "I've seen how you look at Nadia."

Tom looks at Nadia and they both crack a small smile. As he's looking at Nadia, he tells Irina "She's my everything."

Nadia looks down at the table bashfully, blushing a little since her mother was there to hear that.

Irina notices and lets out a quick chuckle. "I kind of figured that." She looks back up at Tom. "So, the descendant of Laurent L'Andre finally reveals himself."

Sydney and Nadia give Irina a confused look.

So does Tom, who asks as eloquently as he can (meaning not very eloquent at all) "Who the hell is Laurent L'Andre?"

Irina folds her arms and leans back. "You did read the manuscript on you, right?"

"The bottom portion was cut off, after Rambaldi mentioned 'the ultimate prophecy'."

Irina looks down and opens her mouth wide in shock. "Oh no, she didn't..."

Tom take's Jack's seat so he can look at Irina eye to eye. "You've seen the whole document?"

Irina looks back at Tom and nods. "Yes, I have."

Tom stirs a bit. "Well, what does the rest of it say?"

"I only got a glance of it while I was Elena's prisoner. It had a picture of a couple other Rambaldi artifacts on it...they looked like vials of liquid. Also, the last line of it on the bottom of the page said that you were the descendent of Laurent L'Andre. Laurent was mentioned as a Rambaldi apprentice in other documents."

Tom looks down and thinks for a moment. He starts connecting some dots with the information he's been given. "My mother's maiden name was Landry, and my middle name is Loren, after my great-grandfather on my mother's side..."

"Sounds like Loren Landry might be the Americanized version of Laurent L'Andre."

Tom looks back at Irina and looks at her with pleading eyes. "What else do you know about Laurent, or the document?"

Irina shakes her head. "I'm afraid I don't know anything more besides what I told you."

"When did you last see the document?"

"Must have been a couple months ago, Elena had it on her desk, that's where I saw it."

Tom shakes his head. "And it was complete then...why would Elena cut off the bottom half?"

Irina then cracks a wide smirk, knowing Elena as well as she does. "My guess...Elena saw you and this 'ultimate prophecy' as a threat, and she probably didn't possess the elements required to find out what it is. But, when I saw the manuscript and Rambaldi's role for you, I realized why she favored Nadia to win the fight with Sydney. Elena probably believes you're an insurance policy for Nadia's survival, and probably hopes that's all you become."

Tom shakes his head in disbelief. "Irina, there is no way Nadia and Sydney are going to fight...and there's no way I'd ever lay a hand on Sydney..."

"If Nadia's life were in danger, would you then?"

Tom pauses, causing an extremely awkward and uncomfortable silence. Sydney and Nadia both look at him concerned because he's not answering that right away with a resounding "no". 

Before he can answer, Jack cuts them off. "That was our pilot. Our plane is being diverted...official orders from Langley."

* * *

_Irina is taken into custody on the plane. Back at APO, after a spirited debate, Sydney convinces Chase to let Irina help in Sovogda. Irina signs an agreement that she will be returned to CIA custody to serve out her sentence after helping in Sovogda._

* * *

_**APO Office** _

Tom sits at his desk, looking like he's in deep thought. Unbeknownst to anyone else, his thoughts are not dwelling on his document, Sovogda, or his recent nightmares. 

Nadia has left him alone for the most part since they returned. She realizes she needs to give him some space. So, she takes a chance to take care of something else away from her desk.

Seeing as she's gone, Tom opens up a drawer and pulls out a small, black box. This is the source of Tom's deep thoughts right now. Tom then looks into the room that Jack and Irina are in and he sees Jack get up from his seat.

Tom takes his cue and starts walking towards the room. This is as good of a time to do what he's about to do as he'll ever get. 

He gets to the door just as Jack is walking out. "What is it?"

Tom looks past him at Irina. In a nervously calm tone, he tells Jack "I'd like to have a word with Miss Derevko. In private."

"Why?"

Before Tom can answer, Irina chimes in from her seat. "It's ok, Jack. Let him in."

Jack walks away a still little confused over Tom's request and gives him a look that pretty much says as much.

Tom walks past Irina and sits down in Jack's seat next to her. He's got a look on his face that he's terribly troubled over something.

Irina notices and assumes that Tom's here to seek more answers like she was a sage. "Look, if this is about what's on your manuscript..."

Tom shakes his head and cuts her off. "It's not that."

Irina then relaxes, but is at a bit of a loss. "Then, why do you want to talk to me?"

Tom takes a deep breath and looks her in the eyes with a sincere look. "Irina, I'm a traditionalist. I grew up in a simple home in a simple town under simple rules. I'm also deeply in love with your daughter Nadia, and..." Tom then looks away, afraid to continue.

Meanwhile, Irina can't help but crack the smallest of smiles. There's something that's kind of adorable about watching the hard man have the consistency of putty in front of her eyes when it comes to the subject of her daughter. Irina's missed much of the romance between Tom and Nadia, but when she was raising Sydney for as short of a time that was, she always dreamt of meeting the man that was going to marry her. She missed out on that, but she's getting that experience with Nadia's boyfriend right now. Unbeknownst to anyone else, there's a beehive of feelings that she's feeling right now over this...and over Nadia herself.

After a few seconds, Tom sighs and continues. "I know the protocol is to ask the father's permission to marry his daughter. However, her father is currently unavailable and I can't wait any longer for him. After he turned on us, I wondered how I was going to pull this off. But then...something happened on the plane ride here."

Irina, who's been listening intently, asks "What happened?"

"I saw you and Nadia embrace. I had my doubts about you going into your rescue, but your daughter believed in you, and I had to respect that. And when I saw the look on your face, the tears in your eyes, when you hugged Nadia...I knew you were for real. You can't fake that reaction you had."

Irina looks away for a moment and fights back that beehive of feelings in the pit of her stomach. There's so much she could say about Nadia right now, but she doesn't want to say it. Nadia's a weak spot for her and she can't show weakness. So, she turns back to Tom with a serious look on her face. "I know it might not seem like it on the surface, but I did have Nadia's best intentions in heart after she was born. When she was hidden in Argentina, I realized she was safe there. She is my daughter and I do love her, and I'm glad she has someone that loves her like you do."

Tom smiles, feeling touched over that. But now, it's time to, as he once told Hans Janssen, do this dance. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. And knowing that, I now feel confident that I can ask you the question that I'm about to ask: Can I marry your daughter?"

Irina turns away in surprise and smiles. That completely came out of left field for her, and the delightful surprise she is feeling just cannot be tamped down right now. She looks back at Tom and hides her giddy feelings. "Do you have the ring?"

Tom nods as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out the black box and hands it to Irina.

Irina flips open the box and sees an engagement ring with four small diamonds on each side of a larger diamond on top of the golden ring. Irina smiles wider as she sees the ring, almost at awe over its beauty. "This is a beautiful ring..."

"Yeah, that was my mom's. I have a feeling she would have wanted Nadia to have it when I asked her hand in marriage. I just got it back from having it polished."

Irina turns back to Tom and hands him back the box. Tom grabs the box, but Irina doesn't let go. Tom looks up concerned at Irina, who just smirks in return. "You have my blessing."

Tom exhales and smiles as Irina lets go of the box. Tom closes it up and puts it in his pocket and stands up, suddenly propelled by the energy that a man gets when this important hurdle with the one he loves is clearend. "Thank you so much for that. You don't know what a relief this is."

Tom extends his hand for a handshake, but Irina stands up and instead gives Tom a warm hug, something that, based on the look on his face, he wasn't expecting.

As they hug, Tom lets out a sigh of relief. "I don't care what they say, you're alright in my book, Irina."

Irina cracks a smile at that as they release the hug. A small victory to convince The Caretaker, a man who has an awfully dark fate ahead of him one way or another, that she's cleared his trust. This could come in handy later. Then, she tells him "You better go get ready for Sovogda."

Tom raises his eyebrows. "They gave you clearance?"

Irina nods and smiles. "I'll see you on the plane."

Tom smiles back as he walks out of the room. Not only can she trust Irina, but he now has clearance to marry Nadia. 

And he has to ensure that before the darkest day of their lives really gets going.

* * *

_**Near Sovogda** _

The team is in the plane, getting suited up for their parachute drop in to Sovogda.

Over on the back side of the plane, Nadia zips up the back of Tom suit. Nadia turns around and Tom returns the favor on her suit.

Nadia turns around and lets out a deep sigh, looking troubled over what's going to come because of the implications of her prophecy. "So, I guess this is it."

Tom smiles and tries to reassure her. "Just stay by my side, you'll be ok. I won't let anything happen to you."

Nadia gives him a faint smile, then goes back to looking down at the ground.

Tom then turns around and looks at Vaughn, who gives him a headnod as he stands by Sydney. Tom gives him an acknowledging headnod back.

As Tom turns back to Nadia, he realizes that she apparently noticed the exchange that just took place. "What was that about?"

Tom reaches over and grabs Nadia's left hand. He stares at the hand for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. Finally, he looks up at Nadia's eyes with a humble look on his face. "Nadia, I have something that I want to say to you."

Nadia looks down and notices his right arm is trembling. Concerned and thinking he's just nervous over the mission, she looks back up with a troubled look. "Tom, we'll be ok..."

Tom takes a deep breath and shakes his head quickly, dismissing her comment. "I wanted to do this in San Felipe. Before we took off, I set us up with a villa on the beach to stay at for two weeks beginning next week. Jack has approved our time off, he just needs your confirmation."

Nadia smiles a bit at the prospect of the vacation. "I can't wait!"

Tom gives Nadia a sheepish smile. "Good. Now, as I said, I was going to do this there, but knowing what we're about to go into, I can't wait any longer."

Nadia now looks very concerned. It troubles her dearly to see Tom so afraid. "Tom, it's ok, what is it?"

Tom immediately looks down at the ground and gets on one knee while still holding her left hand.

Nadia's eyes open wide in shock and she puts her right hand over her mouth as she gasps, realizing what's about to come.

Tom looks back up to Nadia and starts his speech. "Nadia, I have a confession to make. I've loved you since we met in Argentina in 2001. After we went our separate ways, there was not a single day in my life where I didn't have you on my mind, wondering if you were ok, wondering if you were happy, and wondering if I'd ever see you again. And since we reunited, I've had the BEST months of my life with you by my side. Every time I look at your face and see your beautiful smile, I'm filled with this euphoria...like I realize there's only one thing I have to live for in life, and that is to see you smile. Our bond is stronger than the titanium bones in my body, and our struggles have only driven us closer and closer. And now, as we're literally going to walk through the mouth of hell, I want to confirm my commitment to be there to protect you, to love, honor, and cherish you, until death do us part."

Nadia lets out a few whimpers as Tom reaches into his left pocket and pulls out his mom's engagement ring. He holds it up to a now-teary eyed Nadia, causing her to start openly crying. With all the sincerity in the world, he asks her "Nadia, will you marry me?"

Nadia starts nodding her head quickly and, with a wide smile and wasting no time at all, she exclaims "YES! YES, I WILL MARRY YOU!"

Tom lets out a relieved sigh and a happy smile forms on his face as he slides the engagement ring on Nadia's left ring finger. "Whew! Perfect fit!"

Tom then stands up and is grabbed immediately by Nadia. In her trademark move, she puts her hand on the back of his head and pulls him in for a kiss.

Everything around them disappears for the few seconds they are in each other's embrace. This is the happiest moment of both their lives, and that's all that matters at the moment.

They release the kiss after a few seconds and look into each others' eyes longingly. Tom gives Nadia a calm smile. "I love you, beautiful."

Nadia takes a deep breath to try to compose herself. "I love you, handsome!"

Tom and Nadia then embrace in a hug. As they're hugging, Tom looks right and sees Vaughn and Sydney in a similar embrace. Tom gives Vaughn a thumbs up. Vaughn smiles back at Tom and gives him a thumbs up back, confirming that Sydney too agreed to get married. ( _Note: Yes, this is a storyline change from the actual episode. Sydney waited until later to accept the proposal.)_

In between the two happy couples, we catch a very flattered Irina, who wipes some tears from her eyes and says "I'm so happy I could be here...to see both of my daughters got engaged!"

Tom and Nadia then release their hug. Nadia looks over at Irina and they each share a happy, crying moment together. Tom notices the tears on Nadia's face and starts wiping them away.

Nadia exhales quickly and turns back to Tom. "Thanks..." Nadia starts giggling as she examines her ring. "I can't believe this is happening!"

Tom laughs himself. "I'm happy my mom has the same sized finger as you..." Tom turns away and looks at a void in the plane. "Did you know this, Mom?"

Nadia laughs at that, knowing that he was trying to talk to his mother just now.

After he doesn't get a response, he looks back down at Nadia and they stare at each other with wide smiles on their faces.

The moment is broken up by the rear door of the plane opening. The team quickly sees the big orange ball over Sovogda. Any happiness that was just shared because of the engagements are now washed away.

The team puts on their helmets, pulls down their visors, and then proceed jump out of the plane...all of them not sure what they're going to face when they land.

**END OF CHAPTER**


End file.
